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DIET  FOR  THE  SICK 

A  TREATISE  ON  THE  VALUES  OF  FOODS,  THEIR  APPLICATION 

TO  SPECIAL  CONDITIONS  OF  HEALTH  AND  DISEASE,  AND 

ON  THE  BEST  METHODS  OF  THEIR  PREPARATION 


BY 

Mrs.  MARY  F.  HENDERSON 

AUTHOR  OP  "practical  cooking  and  dinner  giving" 


ILLUSTRATED 


'■'■Man  Mils  Mrmelf^  rather  than  dies''^ 


NEW    YORK 
HARPER    &    BROTHERS,    FRANKLIN    SQUARE 


BIOLOGV 


GIFT 

Copyright,  1885,  by  Harper  &  Brothers. 


All  right*  reterved. 


TO 
Dr.  EDWARD  BAYARD,  of  New  York 

AND 

Dr.  T.  GRISWOLD  COMSTOCK,  of  St.  Louis 

the  former  the  life-long  friend  of  my  father,  and  both 

eminent  physicians  for  whom  i  have  unbounded 

respect  and  esteem,  this  book 


Is  (Kratefttlljj  JUcbicateb 


41C533 


PREFACE. 


An  English  author  saj^s,  "The  doctor,  unsupported 
by  the  cook's  material  aid,  and  the  cook,  unguided  by 
the  doctor's  knowledge,  are  two  powerful  agents,  half 
of  whose  strength  is  paralyzed  or  misdirected." 

There  are  many  valuable  books  published  on  "die- 
tetics," w'hich  give  at  great  length  the  chemical  analy- 
ses of  foods,  their  flesh -building  and  heat -producing 
values,  etc.  Many  books  are  also  published  containing 
receipts  for  the  sick. 

But  the  wise  suggestions  contained  in  the  quotation 
have  been  too  little  heeded.  The  doctors  have  not  been 
cooks.     The  cooks  have  not  been  doctors. 

The  author,  although  neither  a  doctor  nor  a  cook  (as 
high  art  can  reach  in  that  direction),  still  concluded  to 
modestly  venture  into  the  domains  of  both,  with  the 
view^  of  studying  the  relations  of  foods  to  health  and 
disease,  and  also  the  best  modes  of  preparing  them  for 
use. 

The  subject  is  an  important  one.  A  proper  dietary 
is  surely  as  essential  to  the  recovery  of  an  invalid  as 
medicine ;  and  yet  it  will  be  observed  that  medical 
works  give  a  thousand  pages  to  medicinal  therapeutics 
to  one  of  dietetics. 

A  physician  at  the  head  of  one  of  our  medical  col- 
leges writes :  "  An  experience  of  ten  years  in  exam- 


vi  Preface. 

ining  medical  Btudents,  reveals  a  tendency  in  them  to 
consider  themselves  *  medicine  men,'  as  is  shown  by 
the  undue  importance  they  attach  to  the  pills,  powders, 
and  potions  they  are  prepared  to  give.  They  ignore 
the  great  fact  that  upon  a  carefully  selected  diet  the 
patient  must  depend  for  the  natural  strength  which  is 
to  be  the  chief  reliance  in  stemming  the  adverse  tide." 

The  professor  might  have  added  more ;  for  the  treat- 
ment of  most  chronic  complaints  is  chiefly  dietetical 
and  hygienic,  rather  than  medicinal. 

The  science  is  comparatively  new  which  treats  of  the 
chemical  composition,  preparation,  and  physiological 
effects  of  foods.  May  the  time  come  when  nothing  in 
the  way  of  dietetical  treatment  need  be  left  to  the  fickle 
appetites  of  patients,  nothing  to  the  judgments  of  anx- 
ious friends,  and  nothing  to  untrained  cooks ! 

If  this  hand-book  —  intended  to  be  small,  though 
the  subject  is  large  —  can  be  of  use  in  the  direction 
just  indicated,  it  will  give  great  pleasure  and  satisfac- 
tion to 

The  Author. 

St.  Louis,  Marcliy  1885. 


CONTENTS. 


REMARKS  ABOUT  BEVERAGES  AND  FOODS .  .Page     1 

Tea... 1 

Coffee  . . . ,  o 5 

Cocoa 5 

Chocolate « 5 

Iced  Water  and  Iced  Tea 6 

Spirituous  Liquors 8 

Malt  Extract 9 

Milk 10 

Buttermilk 13 

Whey 13 

Animal  Foods 13 

Salted  Meats 16 

Fish 16 

Oysters « 16 

Fat o, 18 

Eggs , 20 

Rice , o 20 

Corn-starch  and  Arrow-root r, 21 

Sago  and  Tapioca = 21 

Beans  and  Pease  . .   . » , „ . , 21 

Gelatine 21 

Tomatoes 22 

Fruits,  Grapes,  Bananas,  etc 22 

Sea-moss  Farine  and  Sea  Moss . .  o 25 

TilE  NEW  HEALTH  FOODS  AND  OTHER  GRAIN  PREPARA- 
TIONS   o o . . , 26 

KOUMISS 31 

ARTIFICIAL   DIGESTION  BY  MEANS  OF  PANCREATIC  FER- 
MENTS „... 39 

GRAPE  JUICE 44 


viii  Contents. 

THE  HOT-WATER  CURE Page  47 

DIET  IN  DIFFERENT  DISEASES,  ETC ...  49 

Diet  for  Babies 49 

Dyspepsia 55 

Diarrhea 61 

Dyseuteiy 62 

Cholera 62 

Fevers 64 

Typhoid  Fever 66 

Gout  and  Rheumatism 6*7 

Bright's  Disease 09 

Diabetes Vl 

Consumption 73 

Scrofula 75 

Rickets 75 

Diphtheria , 76 

Gastritis 76 

Corpulency 77 

Colds  and  Catarrhs 225 

SOMETHING  ABOUT  LONGEVITY 80 

UTENSILS 85 

RECEIPTS  FOR  THE  SICK  AND  CONVALESCENT 89 

Drinks 89 

Beef  Teas  and  Broths .  100 

Gruels 106 

Breads  and  other  Grain  Preparations 113 

Receipts  for  Gluten 130 

Vegetables 134 

Little  Dishes ,..  139 

Some  Cream  Soups 158 

Other  Soups 164 

Dishes  of  Rice 169 

Creams  and  Fruits 174 

Custards 180 

Jellies 184 

Puddings 190 

BILLS  OF  FARE  FOR  CONVALESCENTS 194 


APPENDIX 199 

Effkcts  of  Tka  and  Coffki:. 

ExtracL  Irum  aitielc  by  M.  Matticu  Williams 199 


Contents,  ix 

APPENDIX  {continued). 

Influence  op  Alcoholic  Liquors. 

Remarks  on  the  subject  by  Prof.  Edward  L.  Youmans  and 

others Page  205 

Tendency  of  Common  Wheat  Flour  to  Produce  Brigiit's  Dis- 
ease, Diabetes,  etc 20'7 

Something  about  Koumiss. 

Extract  from  an  article  by  Dr.  E.  F.  Brush  of  New  York,  in 

the  Medical  Record. , .• .   208 

More  about  Koumiss. 

By  Dr.  T.  Griswold  Comstock  of  St.  Louis 211 

The  Digestive  Ferments. 

Extracts  from  a  book  on  the  subject  by  Dr.  William  Rob- 
erts of  Manchester,  England 212 

Pancreatic  Emulsion  of  Fats. 

Extract  from  a  work  on  "Loss  of  Weight,  Blood  Spitting, 

and  Lung  Disease,"  by  Dr.  Horace  Dobell 213 

Food  for  Infants. 

Remarks  by  Dr.  Eustace  Smith,  Physician  to  the  King  of  the 

Belgians 215 

Feeding  the  Baby. 

Remarks  by  Dr.  E.  C.  Page,  in  his  book  "  How  to  Feed  the 

Baby".. 221 

Diet  for  Typhoid  Fever. 

Extracts  from  an  address  on  the  "Treatment  of  Typhoid 

Fever,"  by  Sir  William  Jenner , 223 

Colds  and  Catarrhs. 

Extract  from  an  article  by  Dr.  Felix  Oswald,  published  in 

the  "  Popular  Science  Monthly  " 225 

More  about  the  Pancreatic  Extract 228 

ALPHABETICAL  INDEX 231 


DIET  FOE  THE   SICK. 


REMARKS  ABOUT  BEVERAGES  AND  FOODS. 

Tea. 

This  article  contains  an  astringent  matter,  tannin 
(constituting  from  eighteen  to  twenty-five  per  cent,  of 
the  whole),  a  volatile  oil  yielding  the  aroma,  and  theine. 
Authorities  differ  regarding  the  effects  of  tea  upon  the 
system.  Liebig  claims  that  theine  and  caffeine,  in  some 
way  not  satisfactorily  explained,  prevent  or  suspend  the 
waste  of  tissue.  As  nitrogenous  foods  are  necessary  to 
supply  or  reinforce  the  tissues,  he  thinks  that  whatever 
prevents  the  waste  of  tissue  takes  the  place  of  such 
foods,  and,  pro  tanto^  dispenses  with  the  necessity  of 
their  use.  This  theory  is  now  substantially  exploded. 
More  thorough  investigation,  supplemented  by  careful 
experiments,  has  demonstrated  almost  beyond  question 
that  the  waste  of  tissue  is  not,  in  fact,  prevented  by  tea 
or  coffee.  The  essential  principles  of  both  are  stimu- 
lating in  their  effects.  They  increase  the  action  of  the 
heart  and  the  arteries,  and  furnish,  like  alcohol,  a  tran- 
sient increase  of  vital  energy.  These  stimulating  effects 
have,  by  Liebig  and  some  others,  been  accepted  as  the 
prolongation  or  maintenance  of  healthful  strength  and 
vital  force.  These  effects  are  deceptive.  The  advan- 
tages are  as  unreal  as  those  sometimes  supposed  to  spring 
from  the  use  of  alcoholic  liquors.  In  truth,  if  alcohol 
were  taken  in  small  enough  quantities  to  produce  an 
1 


2       :\ : :/ :  vl^^^/Jii"^/:  al}&ut}Foods. 

effect  no  more  stimulating  than  the  use  of  tea,  it  would 
be  less  injurious  to  the  system,  from  the  fact  that  tea  is 
mixed  with  the  food,  adulterating  it  with  tannin,  which 
is  not  contained  in  alcohol. 

Dr.  Bellows  considers  Liebig's  theory  fallacious,  and 
attributes  the  benefits  of  tea  rather  to  its  osmazone  (the 
flavoring  principle).  He  says  that  food  is  moi"e  digesti- 
ble and  assimilable  when  it  is  taken  with  gustatory  pleas- 
ure. The  aromatic  principle  of  tea  commends  it  to  the 
taste.  He  instances  an  experiment  on  a  dog  that  was 
shut  up  and  given  good  natural  food  containing  all  the 
needed  elements  except  osmazone ;  i.  e.^  the  food  was 
cooked  and  recooked  until  all  flavor  and  odor  were 
lost.  The  dog  finally  refused  to  eat  and  pined  away. 
It  may  be  possible  that  the  overcooking  renders  the 
fibres  and  other  elements  unfit  for  digestion,  making 
them  tough  and  depriving  them  in  some  degree  of  nu- 
tritive power.  The  dog's  food,  in  the  case  named,  was, 
perhaps,  little  better  for  dietetic  purposes  than  so  much 
wood.  Flavor,  or  the  sense  of  taste,  is  possibly  an 
index  by  which  nature,  unperverted,  determines  the 
proper  food  to  be  taken  into  the  stomach  at  any  given 
time. 

Professor  Lehman  also  believed  that  tea  and  coffee 
lessen  tlie  waste  of  the  body.  Dr.  Edward  Smith  be- 
lieves to  the  contrary.  He  says  (in  "Foods"),  "I  per- 
formed a  very  extended  series  of  experiments  on  myself 
and  others,  which  proved  that  tea  excites  vital  action,  and 
is  practically  a  respiratory  stimulant.  ...  In  reference 
to  nutrition,  tea  increases  waste,  since  it  promotes  the 
transformation  of  food  without  supplying  nutriment, 
and  increases  the  loss  of  heat  without  supplying  food." 
Tea,  therefore,  he  thinks,  should  only  be  taken  after  a 
full  meal,  unless  the  system  be  at  all  times  replete  with 
nutritive  material. 


Tea,  3 

Pavy  says:  "The  phenomena  produced  when  tea  is 
consumed  in  a  strong  state,  and  to  a  hurtful  extent, 
show  that  it  is  capable  of  acting  in  a  powerful  manner 
upon  the  nervous  system.  Nervous  agitation,  muscular 
tremors,  a  sense  of  prostration,  and  palpitation  consti- 
tute effects  often  seen.  It  also  possesses  direct  irrita- 
tant  properties  which  lead  to  the  production  of  abdomi- 
nal pains  and  nausea,  and  by  the  astringent  matter  it 
contains  it  diminishes  the  action  of  the  bowels." 

Some  authorities,  indeed,  go  so  far  as  to  say  that  tea 
is  a  most  potent  destroyer  of  the  digestive  powers. 

There  are  probably  some  good  results  from  drinking 
tea  and  coffee,  viz. :  the  water  used  is  purified  by  boil- 
ing, the  liquid  is  generally  taken  in  a  warm  state,  and 
the  warmth  of  the  water  tends  to  aid  digestion.  When 
milk  or  cream  is  used  a  valuable  nutritive  aliment  is 
added  which  might  not  otherwise  be  taken ;  and  possi- 
bly, as  one  authority  remarks,  the  use  of  tea  or  coffee  in 
many  cases  furnishes  a  sufficient  stinmlus  to  protect 
against  indulgence  in  drinks  of  a  still  more  injurious 
character.  In  other  words,  it  is  thought  that  dying  of 
tea  and  coffee  is  more  gradual  than  dying  of  whiskey 
and  brandy. 

It  is  now  generally  conceded  that  the  effect  of  the 
active  principle  in  tea  and  coffee  is  more  or  less  injuri- 
ous to  the  nervous  system,  and  the  tannin  contained  in 
them  acts  as  a  constant  irritant  to  the  stomach,  present- 
ing a  formidable  obstacle  to  digestion.  Slavery  of  body 
and  mind  to  any  unnatural  stimulant  is  unfortunate, 
whether  that  stimulant  be  tea  or  coffee,  alcoholic  drinks 
or  opium — all  more  or  less  beneficial  as  remedial  agents 
and  injurious  as  constant  beverages. 

The  feeling  of  health  and  strength  which  makes  it  a 
luxury  to  live,  the  exhilarating  sense  of  self-command 
which  makes  work  a  pleasure  and  success  a  certainty, 


4:  Eemarhs  about  Foods. 

that  liappy  buoyancy  of  spirit  which  comes  only  from 
the  taking  of  wholesome  and  assimilable  food,  cannot 
be  properly  appreciated  by  those  who  depend  upon  the 
ephemeral  effects  of  stimulants. 

If  a  stimulating  drink  is  desired,  nothing  is  more 
wholesome  than  koumiss  before  it  becomes  too  acid. 
Chocolate  (alkathrepta  made  without  vanilla)  furnishes 
another  nourishing,  although  hardly  a  stimulating,  drink. 

Several  substitutes  for  coffee  have  been  tried,  such  as 
chiccory,  roasted  beans,  pease,  etc.  Probably  the  best 
substitute  is  the  cereal  coffee  prepared  by  the  Health 
Food  Company.  It  is  made  of  the  entire  barley  grain 
and  the  gluten  of  wheat.  It  is  of  nutritive  value,  and 
has  a  pleasant  flavor  resembling  coffee.  One  tires  of  it, 
however,  after  a  short  time.  The  most  pleasant  and  in- 
nocent of  drinks  for  a  constant  beverage  is  one  at  the 
mention  of  which  the  reader  may  smile  incredulously. 
But,  let  him  first  try  it.  I  call  it  hot-water  tea.*  It 
consists  simply  of  boiling  water,  with  cream  and  sugar 
added,  and  is  served  in  a  teacup.  The  temperature  of 
the  boiling  water  should  be  properly  reduced  by  the 
addition  of  the  cold  cream.  As  soon  as  hot-water  tea 
is  given  a  fair  trial,  it  will  be  discovered  that  it  is  chiefly 
the  warmth  of  the  beverage  that  is  desired ;  also  that, 
with  a  bit  of  imagination,  hot-water  tea  will  soon  seem 
to  possess  all  the  flavor  of  the  genuine  English  Break- 
fast or  Ilyson,  the  Government  Java  or  the  Mocha  in- 
fusions. Yet  some  persons  are  very  difficile^  and  have 
no  imagination. 

In  closing  this  article,  I  would  add  that  green  tea  is 
more  objectionable  than  black  tea.  It  contains  a  third 
more  tannin,  and  often  a  deleterious  coloring  matter 


*  The  author  has  since  heard  that  this  beverage  is  mentioned  in  the 
menus  of  some  New  York  hotels  as  "  cambric  tea." 


Coffee, — Cocoa  and  Chocolate.  5 

(Prussian  blue  mixed  with  gypsum  and  indigo).  In  the 
preparation  of  tea  it  should  never  be  allowed  to  boil  and 
steep.  Boiling  water  should  be  poured  upon  the  leaves, 
and  the  infusion  used  in  a  very  few  minutes  afterwards. 
The  tea  leaves  should  never  be  used  a  second  time. 
When  tea  is  boiled,  tannin  is  extracted  in  undue  quan- 
tities, and  the  volatile  osmazone  is  driven  off.* 

Coffee. 
Coffee  is  heating  and  stimulating,  and  is  serviceable  in 
giving  warmth  to  the  body  under  exposure  to  cold. 
Taken  in  immoderate  quantities  it  induces  feverishness, 
tremor,  palpitation,  anxiety,  and  deranged  vision.  It 
contains  less  tannin  than  tea,  and  is  probably  less  in- 
jurious to  the  digestive  powers. 

Cocoa  and  Chocolate. 
Cocoa  is  the  name  of  the  seed  or  bean  of  the  cacao- 
tree,  ground  into  a  powder,  and  moulded  into  cakes. 
When  it  is  flavored  with  vanilla  and  mixed  with  sugar 
it  is  called  chocolate.  For  the  invalid,  chocolate  should 
be  avoided  on  account  of  the  vanilla.  Cocoa  or  alka- 
threpta  (a  quite  pure  pharmaceutical  preparation)  should 
be  substituted  for  it.  Cocoa  differs  from  tea  and  coffee 
in  that  it  possesses  little  or  no  tannin,  or  other  of  their 
deleterious  constituents.  It  contains  a  large  percentage 
of  fatty  and  albuminous  (muscle-making)  matter,  with 
about  four  per  cent,  of  phosphates,  and  is  supplied  with 
all  the  requisite  elements  of  food  for  sustaining  life.  It 
possesses  the  stimulating  effect  of  tea  and  coffee,  though 
in  a  very  mild  degree.  Pavy  says:  "Containing,  as 
cocoa  does,  twice  as  much  fatty  matter  as  wheaten  flour, 
with  a  notable  quantity  of  starch,  and  an  agreeable  aro- 

*  For  further  remarks  about  tea  and  coffee  see  Appendix,  page  1 99. 


6  Bemarhs  about  Foods. 

ma  to  tempt  the  palate,  it  must  be  a  valuable  aliment- 
ary material.  Chocolate  taken  with  milk  and  bread 
will  suffice  for  a  good  repast."  The  nutritive  elements 
of  cocoa  are  so  concentrated,  and  it  is  so  rich  in  oily 
matter,  that  it  should  only  be  freely  taken  by  conva- 
lescents and  persons  in  active  life.  In  Solis's  "  Con- 
quest of  Mexico  "  it  is  said  that  the  Spanish  conquerors 
did  not  fail  to  record  their  appreciation  of  the  flavor 
and  nutritive  qualities  of  chocolate,  a  single  cup  of  it 
being  enough,  in  their  estimation,  to  sustain  a  man 
through  a  day's  march.     The  cups  were  probably  large. 

Chocolate  is  frequently  adulterated  with  starch,  suet, 
and  coloring  matters.  Venetian  red,  umber,  annatto, 
and,  in  some  instances,  the  highly  poisonous  metallic 
salts  of  cinnabar  and  red  lead  are  employed. 

The  chocolate  in  common  use  is,  therefore,  of  very 
uncertain  composition.  According  to  Dr.  Ilassall  the 
doubtful  article  composes  half  of  what  is  sold  in  Eng- 
land. 

Iced  Water  and  Iced  Tea. 

The  digestive  agents  are  very  sensitive  to  tempera- 
ture, the  process  of  digestion  being  arrested  by  a  tem- 
perature either  too  hot  or  too  cold.  This  is  practically 
tested  hj  experimenting  with  the  receipts  given  in  this 
book,  where  the  pancreatic  extract  is  employed. 

Water,  to  be  refreshing  and  wholesome,  should  not, 
when  drunk,  be  above  the  usual  temperature  of  fresh 
spring  or  well  water.  The  habitual  use  of  iced  water 
hy  Americans  is  certainly  attended  with  great  injury; 
and  undoubtedly  this  lavish  use  of  it  and  hot  breads  is 
the  chief  cause  of  the  national  disease — dyspepsia.  A 
waiter's  first  duty  at  an  American  hotel  is  to  place  be- 
fore each  guest  a  goblet  full  of  cracked  ice,  and  the 
crevices  are  then  tilled  with  water  before  he  takes  an 
order  for  something  else  to  go  with  it. 


Iced  Water  and  Iced  Tea.  7 

An  acquaintance  of  the  writer,  in  Missouri,  who  was 
blessed  with  a  most  -perhct  physiqiie,  drank  an  unusual 
quantity  of  iced  water  one  hot  summer's  day,  and  died 
three  days  afterwards  from  paralysis  of  the  stomach. 

Dio  Lewis,  in  his  work  on  "  Our  Digestion,"  writes  as 
follows : 

"Dr.  Beaumont  makes  an  interesting  statement  illus- 
trating the  influence  of  cold  drinks  upon  the  digestion. 
He  placed  his  thermometer  in  St.  Martin's  stomach,* 
and  found  the  temperature  99°.  A  gill  of  water  at  the 
temperature  of  55°  was  introduced.  As  soon  as  it  was 
diffused  over  the  interior  surface,  the  temperature  was 
reduced  to  70°,  at  which  it  stood  a  few  minutes,  and 
then  began  very  slowly  to  rise.  It  was  not  until  thirty 
minutes  had  elapsed,  and  all  the  water  had  been  for 
some  time  absorbed,  that  the  mercury  regained  its  for- 
mer level  of  99°. 

"  When  we  reflect  that  in  this  case  there  was  but  a 
single  gill  of  water  and  the  temperature  was  55°,  which 
hardly  deserves  the  name  of  cold,  we  shall  not  hesitate 
in  pronouncing  upon  the  habit  of  drinking  the  usual 
quantities  of  iced  water  with  our  meals,  or  that  of  con- 
suming, at  the  end  of  a  full  meal,  a  dish  of  ice-cream. 
When  we  remember  that  a  temperature  of  99°  is  abso- 
lutely required  to  carry  forward  the  process  of  digestion, 
can  we  doubt,  if  a  gill  of  water  at  the  temperature  of  55° 
produced  such  an  effect  upon  St.  Martin,  a  person  of 
rarest  vigor  of  health,  what  would  be  the  influence  of  a 

*  The  author  would  explain,  in  reference  to  this  apparently  rash  remark, 
that  Alexis  St.  Martin  was  wounded  in  sucli  a  manner  by  a  gunsliot  thaJ 
the  stomach  was  exposed ;  the  edges  of  the  wound  cicatrized,  leaving  a 
permanent  fistulous  opening  leading  into  the  cavity  of  the  stomach.  The 
orifice,  usually  closed,  could  be  opened,  and  the  process  of  digestion  in- 
spected. Dr.  Beaumont  made  a  long  series  of  experiments  with  St.  Mar- 
tin, most  valuable  and  interesting  to  the  medical  profession. 


8  Remarks  about  Foods, 

pint  of  iced  water  on  the  stomach  of  a  person  of  weak 
digestion." 

A  more  senseless  custom  still  is  to  drink  iced  tea. 
The  icing  of  tea  serves  to  precipitate  the  tannin,  and 
this  is  taken  into  the  stomach  as  an  insoluble  substance. 

Spieituous  Liquoes. 

As  medicinal  agents  I  have  nothing  to  say  against 
alcoholic  drinks.  Strychnine,  arsenic,  opium,  bella- 
donna, and  perhaps  even  calomel,  as  medicines,  may  be 
serviceable  also,  when  prescribed  in  proper  quantities 
by  competent  physicians. 

Regarding  the  action  and  effects  of  alcohol  when 
taken  habitually,  I  have  quoted  from  Professor  You- 
mans*  and  others.     (See  Appendix,  page  205.) 

I  will  only  introduce  here  the  theory  of  an  able  phy- 
sician who  has  for  many  years  been  at  the  head  of  an 
inebriate  asylum  in  Connecticut.  He  says  that  in  pro- 
ducing drunkards  a  fault  equal  to  and  possibly  greater 
than  the  dram-shop  influence  exists,  and  that  is  the  cus- 
tom of  habitually  serving  highly  seasoned  food  at  the 
home  table.  This  creates  the  appetite  for  stronger  stim- 
ulants, which  grows  and  becomes  morbid  by  continued 
indulgence.  The  dumb  animals,  he  says,  live  on  simple 
diet,  without  condiments,  and  continue  to  take  the 
same  simple  food  throughout  life  that  was  taken  in 
youth.  A  pickled  carrot,  a  peppered  clover,  spiced 
cornmeal,  or  a  tobacco  leaf  would  be  spurned  by  an 
intelligent -eyed  ox,  as  an  insult  to  his  natural  under- 
standing. The  sentiments  of  any  other  animal  (except 
the  human  species)  would  be  the  same  on  the  sub- 
ject. Result — scarcely  any  stomachic  disorders  among 
animals. 

♦  * '  Household  Science. " 


Malt  Extract.  9 

The  mouth  or  taste  is  the  heaven-given  sentinel  to 
guard  that  royal  domain,  the  stomach.  Give  to  a  young 
child  a  condiment  and  the  sentinel  rejects  it,  until  by 
continued  solicitation,  and  by  habit,  the  taste  becomes 
perverted.  The  stomach  gradually  acquires  an  unnat- 
ural and  unhealthy  desire,  the  same  desire  that  in  a 
strong  degree  can  only  be  satisfied  with  fiery  liquors. 
Pepper,  Dr.  Foote  considers  the  most  pernicious  of  the 
spices — perhaps  because  it  is  more  generally  used.  Tea 
and  coffee  are  also  rejected  from  his  dietetical  repertoire; 
in  fact,  he  would  discard  all  articles  which  tend  to  ex- 
cite irritation  or  create  unnatural  stimulus. 

For  the  object  of  mere  gustatory  pleasure,  the  doctor 
insists  that  the  man  with  healthy  appetite  enjoys  more 
a  simple  crust  of  bread  than  the  epicure  with  inflamed 
and  calloused  stomach  can  his  fiery  ragout. 

In  other  words,  what  begins  with  spice,  pickles,  etc., 
ends  with  whiskey.  The  man  with  a  healthy  stomach 
will  no  more  crave  whiskey  than  the  ox  will  crave  to- 
bacco. In  the  treatment  of  inebriates,  besides  the  gen- 
eral remedies  administered  for  febrile  conditions,  his 
chief  point  is  to  so  regulate  the  diet  that  the  stomach 
will  gradually  become  accustomed  again  to  simple  food, 
in  the  same  manner  that  it  became  accustomed  to  the 
stimulating  food.  When  this  point  is  reached  the  pa- 
tient is  considered  cured. 

Malt  Extract. 
Several  preparations  of  malt  extract  are  offered  which 
are  valuable  in  an  alimentary  point  of  view,  for  aiding 
in  the  digestion  of  starch  or  farinaceous  foods. 

Malt  is  made  by  allowing  barley  to  germinate,  and 
the  germination  is  arrested  at  a  certain  temperature. 
As  a  result  a  peculiar  nitrogenous  principle  called  dias- 
tase is  developed,  which  has  the  power  of  converting 
1* 


10  Remarks  about  Foods. 

starch  into  dextrine  and  sugar.  An  infusion  of  malted 
barley  is  reduced  to  a  syrupy  consistency,  by  a  low  tem- 
perature, without  impairing  the  fermenting  power  of  the 
diastase,  and  this  is  called  malt  extract. 

When  the  digestive  powers  are  weak  the  extract  is 
often  valuable,  although  it  should  be  taken  with  farina- 
ceous food,  or  just  after. 

The  malt  extract  is  also  indicated  when  the  moutli  is 
dry,  denoting  feeble  action  of  the  salivary  glands.  Dr. 
Roberts  suggests  that  the  extract  should  be  spread  upon 
bread  and  butter,  or  used  to  sweeten  puddings  and 
gruels. 

Milk. 

The  value  of  milk  as  a  food  cannot  be  exaggerated. 
It  is  a  complete  diet  in  itself,  containing  in  proper  pro- 
portion everything  necessary  for  sustaining  life. 

In  a  sanitary  point  of  view  the  world  would  be  bet- 
ter off  if  a  larger  proportion  of  milk  were  taken  for 
daily  food,  and  the  amount  of  animal  food  and  of  tea 
and  coffee  were  correspondingly  reduced.  Milk  is  not 
only  nourishing,  but  stimulating  ;  and  the  natural  stim- 
ulus resulting  from  assimilable  food  is  the  only  health- 
ful and  desirable  one. 

Many  diseases,  such  as  rheumatism,  dyspepsia,  gas- 
tralgia,  chronic  diarrhoea,  consumption,  etc.,  are  relieved 
or  cured  by  a  diet  composed  partly  or  entirely  of  milk. 
The  milk  treatment,  as  practised  in  different  parts  of 
Europe,  has  been  very  successful. 

In  perfect  health,  good  pure  milk  is  almost  always 
digestible.     There  are  a  few  with  whom  it  disagrees. 

The  addition  of  lime-water  will  correct  it  for  persons 
inclined  to  acidity  of  the  stomach.  Skimmed  milk  will 
be  more  beneficial  to  those  who  require  less  fat.  When 
milk  is  found  to  be  indigestible  the  difficulty  is  gener- 
ally obviated  by  taking  it  mixed  with  starch  or  grain 


Millc,  -11 

foods  —  for  instance,  with  rice,  porridge,  bread,  etc. ; 
or  it  can  be  boiled  and  thiclcened  with  a  little  barley 
flour,  etc.  The  reason  is  explained  by  Dr.  Eustace 
Smith,  page  216. 

It  is  preferable  to  give  milk  to  diabetics  in  the  form 
of  koumiss,  which  contains  no  sugar. 

In  typhoid  fever  it  should  be  either  administered 
peptonized  or  in  the  form  of  fresh  koumiss.  This  pre- 
vents the  formation  of  curd,  which  is  irritating  to  the 
bowels  in  that  disease. 

Milk  in  its  acid  state  and  buttermilk  are  nourishing 
and  beneficial  in  febrile  conditions. 

Cows'  milk  is  not  always  of  uniform  quality.  That 
of  the  Alderney  cow  yields  the  largest  proportion  of 
butter.  The  feeding,  too,  influences  the  quality  of  milk ; 
for  instance,  with  dry  food,  the  milk  is  relatively  richer 
in  solids,  and  with  good  grass  it  abounds  in  fat. 

Water  constitutes  nine  tenths  of  milk;  tli^^remainder 
consists  of  albuminoid  or  the  muscle-building  principle, 
caseine  (the  curd  which  is  used  in  making  cheese),  the 
carbonates  or  heat-producing  principle  (the  butter  and 
sugar).  Then  there  is  some  mineral  matter — the  phos- 
phates. The  sugar  is  called  lactine,  and  by  fermenta- 
tion or  souring  it  is  converted  into  lactic  acid. 

When  the  ''milk  cure"  is  resorted  to,  the  patient 
should  gradually  leave  off  his  ordinary  mixed  diet  until 
he  reaches  an  exclusively  milk  diet. 

Mitchell  formulates  his  method  of  administering  a 
milk  diet  as  follows : 

"My  own  rule,  founded  on  considerable  experience, 
is  this :  Dating  from  the  time  when  the  patient  begins 
to  take  milk  alone,  I  wish  three  weeks  to  elapse  before 
anything  be  used  save  milk.  After  the  first  week  of 
the  period  I  direct  that  the  milk  be  taken  in  just  as 
large  amount  as  the  person  desires,  but  not  allowing  it 


12  Bemarlcs  about  Foods. 

to  fall  below  a  limit  which,  for  me,  is  determined  in  each 
case  by  his  ceasing  to  lose  weight.  Twenty-one  days 
of  absolute  milk  diet  having  passed,  with  such  exception 
as  I  shall  presently  mention,  I  now  give  a  thin  slice  of 
stale  bread,  thrice  a  day.  After  another  week  I  allow 
rice  once  a  day,  about  two  tablespoonfuls,  or  a  little  ar- 
rowroot, or  both.  At  the  fifth  week  I  give  a  chop  once 
a  day ;  and  after  the  sixth  week  I  expect  the  patient  to 
return  gradually  to  a  diet  which  should  consist  largely 
of  milk  for  some  months." 

Dr.  Barthelow's  rule  is  gradually  to  add  other  diet, 
after  the  cessation  of  symptoms  for  which  the  milk 
treatment  was  instituted. 

Milk  and  animal  food,  or  milk  and  acid  food,  should 
not  be  taken  together.  Persons  desiring  to  take  a  par- 
tial milk  diet  can  take  milk  and  farinaceous  food  for 
breakfast  and  for  lunch  or  tea,  and  omit  it  at  dinner, 
which  may  be  a  meal  of  meat  and  vegetables. 

Milk  should  be  taken  by  the  invalid  slightly  warm. 
No  doubt  the  natural  warmth  of  the  milk  when  fresh 
from  the  cow  is  the  best. 

Dr.  Dobell,  in  his  work,  "  Diet  and  Kegimen,"  says : 
^'Now  the  nearest  approach  to  a  pancreatic  emulsion  is 
what  may  be  called  nascent  milk,  by  which  I  mean 
milk  just  secreted — milk  that  flows  from  the  mammary 
glands  as  it  is  formed.  ...  In  this  the  emulsification  is 
finest  and  most  perfect,  but  every  minute  that  elapses 
after  the  milk  is  secreted  deteriorates  this  perfection  of 
emulsification,  nntil,  as  we  know,  when  allowed  to  cool, 
the  cream  separates  from  the  water  of  the  milk,  etc." 

Milk  can  be  kept  fresh  for  a  long  time  if  placed  in 
well-scalded  and  perfectly  clean  glass  jars,  which  can  be 
hermetically  sealed  by  drawing  patent  wire  clasps  over 
the  glass  tops. 

On  a  journey  to  Europe  some  acquaintances  took 


Buttermilk,  —  ^Ylley. — Animal  Foods.  13 

milk  and  cream  in  glass  jars,  in  the  way  described. 
The  last  day  of  the  ocean  voyage  it  seemed  as  fresh  as 
when  leaving  New  York.  It  was,  of  course,  kept  in 
the  ice-closet. 

Glass  jars  and  bottles  are  now  in  general  use  at  the 
best  dairies  in  New  York. 

BUTTEKMILK. 

Buttermilk  contains,  the  same  as  skimmed  milk,  the 
full  nourishment  of  the  milk  without  the  fat;  how- 
ever, it  retains  a  very  small  proportion  of  fat,  less  than 
skimmed  milk.  It  is  very  beneficial  in  some  weak  con- 
ditions of  the  stomach  (dyspepsia,  fever,  etc.). 

Dr.  Ballot,  of  Kotterdam,  has  had  much  to  say  about 
the  value  of  buttermilk  in  the  treatment  of  infants  for 
summer  complaint,  cholera  infantum,  etc.  Koumiss,  or 
peptonized  milk,  might  be  found  equally  efficacious,  and 
possibly  preferable,  in  many  cases. 

Whey. 
Whey  is  almost  without  nutritive  value.  As  a  drink 
in  febrile  or  inflammatory  conditions  it  is  refreshing  and 
often  beneficial.  It  is  sometimes  recommended  to  per- 
sons who  find  difficulty  in  retaining  food  in  the  stomach. 
However,  in  such  cases,  koumiss  would  probably  be  of 
greater  value. 

Animal  Foods. 

Of  all  the  animal  foods,  beef  is  the  most  important. 
It  is  very  digestible,  and  because  of  its  fine  texture  and 
richness  in  red-blood  juices,  it  furnishes  more  nutriment 
in  proportion  to  weight  than  any  other  meat.  Like  bread, 
it  never  palls  on  the  appetite.  The  quality  of  beef  de- 
pends mucli  on  the  age  and  manner  of  feeding  the  ox. 
To  be  at  perfection  the  animal  should  be  four  years  old, 
not  worked,  and  partly  corn-fed. 


14  Remarks  about  Foods. 

Mutton  is  generally  more  digestible  than  beef,  it  and 
venison  being  regarded  as  the  most  digestible  of  all  the 
meats.  It  is  popularly  supposed  to  be  a  lighter  food 
than  beef,  the  latter  being  adapted  to  physical  exercise, 
while  mutton  is  rather  a  food  for  persons  of  sedentary 
habits,  and  for  invalids.  Dr.  Smith,  in  an  interesting 
work  on  "Foods,"  says  that  Kean  suited  the  kind  of 
meat  which  he  ate  to  the  part  which  he  was  about  to 
play,  and  selected  mutton  for  lovers,  beef  for  murderers, 
and  pork  for  tyrants. 

Mutton  broth  has  less  nutritive  value  than  beef  broth. 

Venison.  When  sufficiently  hung  and  tender,  veni- 
son outranks  all  meats  in  point  of  digestibility.  It  is 
also  palatable  and  highly  nutritious. 

Veal  and  Lamb.  J^lthough  the  flesh  of  young  animals 
is  more  tender  than  that  of  old,  it  is  less  digestible  and 
less  nutritious.  The  tissues  of  young  animals  are  more 
gelatinous  than  those  of  the  adult,  the  latter  containing 
more  of  fibrine  and  of  the  flavoring  principle,  omazone. 

Pork.  Unless  it  be  a  small,  thin  slice  of  breakfast-ba- 
con taken  in  the  way  of  an  appetizer,  pork  should  be  ex- 
cluded altogether  from  the  invaliv^  6  dietary.  Although 
it  is  a  convenient  and  inexpensive  meat  and  an  appetiz- 
ing one  for  man}-,  and  perhaps  an  unobjectionable  one 
for  laboring  men,  yet,  on  account  of  the  uncertain  feed- 
ing of  the  animal,  and  the  hardness  of  its  muscular  fibre, 
it  is  doubtful  whether  pork  should  be  used  at  all  by  peo- 
ple of  sedentary  habits. 

Lard  and  pork  have  seemed  indispensable  for  frying 
purposes,  and  for  larding  and  seasoning.  It  must  be  tak- 
en on  trust,  however.  In  the  Southern  States  many  are 
using  cotton-seed  oil, which  has  quite  the  flavor  of  olive  oil, 
for  cooking — using  it  in  place  of  lard  for  everything  for 
which  lard  is  used.  It  is  now  sold  in  all  the  large  cities, 
and  in  time  will  undoubtedly  be  very  generally  used. 


Animal  Foods.  15 

The  table  inserted  below,  giving  the  relative  nutritive 
and  other  values  of  the  five  animal  foods  principally  used, 
is  taken  from  Dr.  Bellow's  "  Philosophy  of  Eating." 

In  one  hundred  parts  are — 

Mineral  matter,  Fibrin  and  albumen, 

or  food  for  the  or  food  for  muscles  Fat,  or  food 

brain,  etc.  and  tissues.  for  heat.  Water. 

Veal 4.5  16.5  16.5  62.5 

Beef 5.0  15.0  30.0  50.0 

Mutton 3.5  12.5  40.0  44.0 

Lamb 3.5  12.0  34.0  50.5 

Pork 1.5  10.0  50.0  38.5 

Undoubtedly  too  much  meat  is  generally  eaten  by 
persons  of  sedentary  habits,  resulting  in  dyspepsia,  gout, 
etc.  In  cold  weather,  and  with  much  physical  exercise, 
it  can  be  freely  taken,  but  in  temperate  or  warm  weather 
a  greater  proportion  of  cereal  food  would  improve  the 
general  health.  An  analysis  of  the  two  kinds  of  food 
shows  a  similar  composition.  The  muscle-making  ele- 
ments in  beef,  the  fibrine  and  albumen,  correspond  with 
the  muscle-making  elements  in  wheat — gluten  and  albu- 
men ;  and  they  so  a^ree  in  chemical  composition  as  to 
be  considered  mere  niodifications  of  the  same  substance, 
and,  being  dried,  contain  principally  the  same  elements 
in  the  same  proportions. 

Thus  the  popular  idea  that  grain  food  is  not  so  strong 
and  nourishing  as  animal  food  is  erroneous.  The  meat 
of  animals  is  nitrogenous  and  therefore  muscle-building. 
So  are  the  grains  nitrogenous  and  muscle-building.  Dr. 
Kadcliffe,  in  an  interesting  article  in  the  Popular  Science 
Monthly^  says :  "  It  is  impossible  to  distinguish  between 
the  albuminose  or  peptone  into  which  fibrine  is  resolved 
in  the  process  of  digestion  and  the  albuminose  or  pep- 
tone into  which  albumen  or  caseine  or  gluten  or  legu- 
mine  is  resolved  in  this  process.  It  is  apparently  of  little 
or  no  moment  whether  these  various  nitrosrenous  arti- 


16  Remarks  about  Foods, 

cles  of  food  are  derived  from  the  world  of  animal  life 
or  from  the  world  of  vegetable  life. 

"  You  must  allow  that  an  herbivorous  animal  is  not 
less  vigorous  than  a  carnivorous  animal;  and  certainly 
you  would  find  it  difiicult  to  show  that  man,  who  can 
live  and  thrive  under  the  most  dissimilar  circumstances, 
upon  almost  any  kind  of  food,  is  vigorous  in  proportion 
to  the  amount  of  meat  he  contrives  to  consume." 

Meats  should  not  be  served  to  invalids  cooked  a  sec- 
ond time.  The  flavoring  principle,  osmazone,  is  dissi- 
pated after  the  first  cooking,  and  the  meat  must  depend 
upon  outside  seasonings  for  flavor.  The  tissues  are  also 
less  tender. 

Salted  Meats. 

On  account  of  the  toughness  of  fibre  resulting  from 
the  curing  process,  these  meats  are  difficult  of  digestion, 
and  should  never  be  used  in  the  sick-room. 

Fish. 
Fish  is  a  nourishing  and  digestible  food  for  conva- 
lescents if  served  quite  fresh  and  broiled  or  boiled.     It 
affords  a  pleasant  change  of  food  about  once  a  week. 

Oysters. 
Oysters  are  nutritious  and  generally  well-borne  by 
delicate  stomachs.  Dr.  William  Roberts,  in  his  work 
"  On  the  Digestive  Ferments,"  advances  an  interesting 
theory  in  relation  to  oysters  as  a  food.  He  claims  that 
the  effect  of  cooking  is  to  diminish  their  digestibility, 
which  would  make  oysters  the  exception  in  this  respect 
among  the  articles  that  furnish  albuminoid  matter.  He 
explains  his  reasons  by  saying  that  the  fawn-colored 
part  of  the  oyster,  containing  about  half  its  substance, 
is  its  liver,  composed  partly  of  glycogen.  Associated 
with  this,  but  withheld  from  actual  contact  with  it  dur- 


Oysters,  17 

ing  life  is  its  appropriate  digestive  ferment — diastase. 
Mastication  mixes  these  constituents  and  they  are  di- 
gested without  other  aid.  Cooking  destroys  the  digest- 
ing properties  of  the  diastase,  and  then  the  oyster  has 
to  be  digested  like  other  food — by  the  eater's  own  di- 
gestive power. 

Other  authorities  question  and  doubt  Dr.  Roberts' 
theory.  The  excessive  use  of  condiments — salt,  pepper, 
lemon-juice,  and  vinegar — more  especially  pepper,  com- 
bined with  imperfect  mastication,  may  possibly  impair 
the  wholesomeness  of  raw  oysters  to  many  persons.''^ 
The  hard  portion,  or  muscle,  which  fastens  the  oyster  to 
the  shell  should  be  removed  in  all  cases  when  served 
for  weak  stomachs. 

The  author  would  recommend  oyster  soup,  properly 
prepared  (the  oysters  slightly  cooked),  as  the  best  mode 
of  administering  oysters  to  an  invalid.  The  flavor  of 
the  juice  and  the  extra  nourishment  furnished  by  the 
cream  or  milk  used,  together  with  the  advantage  which 
foods  served  warm  afford  to  digestion,  would  be  good 
reasons  for  preferring  oyster  stews  or  soups. 

Dr.  Bellows,  in  *'  The  Philosophy  of  Eating,"  speak- 
ing of  oysters,  says  :  "  They  have  not,  as  food,  the  mus- 
cle-making elements  of  the  Crustacea  or  other  active 
fish  ;  and  although  their  chemical  composition  indicates 
phosphatic  salts,  they  are  mostly  salts  of  lime,  which  go 
to  form  the  shell  and  to  make  bone  rather  than  a  food 
for  the  brain  and  nervous  system.  Oysters,  therefore, 
are  very  unsatisfactory  food  for  laboring  men,  but  will 
do  for  the  sedentary  and  for  a  supper  to  sleep  on. 
They  contain  but  7|-  per  cent,  of  solid  matter,  including 
fibrin,  albumen,  gelatine,  mucus,  and  osmazone;   and 


*  Whatever  the  cause,  the  fact  remains  that  many  persons  find  raw  oys- 
ters quite  indigestible. 


18  Remarhs  about  Foods. 

much  of  that  is  gelatine,  which  affords  no  nourishment, 
while  butcher's  meat  contains  on  an  average  25  per 
cent.,  and  the  poorest  fishes  contain  14  per  cent.,  of  pure 
nitrates.  The  nitrates  in  oysters  are  in  the  form  of  al- 
bumen, like  the  white  of  an  egg ;  they  are,  therefore, 
more  easily  digested  in  a  raw  state  than  when  cooked, 
but  when  stewed  are  not  indigestible." 

Fat. 

We  have  heretofore  too  little  appreciated  the  impor- 
tance of  fat  in  our  dietaries.  Without  knowing  why, 
fat  has  generally  been  considered  imwholesome,  tending 
to  produce  biliousness,  corpulence,  and  heat,  besides 
being  a  general  clog  and  burden  in  all  digestive  pro- 
cesses. Oil  has  been  avoided ;  butter  on  bread  has 
been  scraped  down  to  the  smallest  quantity,  and  the 
fat  of  meat  has  been  sedulously  trimmed. 

Fat  is  as  necessary  to  the  system  as  the  muscle-mak- 
ing properties  of  foods.  It  not  only  serves  to  produce 
heat,  but  has  an  essential  share  in  the  tissue-making 
process.  It  does  not  produce  the  material,  but  influ- 
ences the  assimilation  of  the  other  principles  of  food  by 
well-established  processes.  Although  it  is  essential  to 
the  formation  of  every  structure  in  the  body,  it  is  an 
especially  essential  constituent  of  the  brain  and  ner- 
vous system.  A  diet  with  a  deficiency  of  fat  tends  to 
produce  diseased  conditions  in  the  direction  of  scrofula 
and  consumption.  Cod-liver  oil  is  not  properly  a  med- 
icine ;  it  is  a  fatty  diet  given  with  a  view  of  supplying 
what  is  supposed  to  be  lacking  in  the  system.  It  is  af- 
firmed that  if  one  takes  and  assimilates  a  sufiicient 
quantity^  of  fat  in  the  ordinary  diet,  one  is  not  liable  to 
have  consumption  or  nervous  diseases. 

In  foods  supplying  all  the  necessary  elements  for 
sustaining  life,  fat  constitutes  a  considerable  proportion 


Fat.  19 

— for  instance,  milk,  eggs,  etc.  The  yolk  of  the  Qgg  is 
about  one  third  fat. 

Dr.  Radcliffe  says,  "There  is  no  essential  difference 
as  to  the  chemical  composition  between  vegetable  albu- 
men and  fibrine,  and  leguniine  and  oily  matters,  and 
animal  albumen  and  fibrine,  and  caseine  and  oily  mat- 
ters; there  is  no  perceptible  difference  in  the  albumi- 
nose  or  peptone  into  whicli  the  vegetable  and  animal 
nitrogenous  substances  are  alike  transformed  in  tlie  pro- 
cess of  digestion ;  there  is  no  difference  in  the  way  in 
which  the  vegetable  and  animal  oily  matters  are  emul- 
sified and  then  taken  up  directly  into  the  general  circu- 
lation of  the  blood." 

Another  writer  says :  "  If  the  inhabitants  of  the  Arctic 
regions  gorge  themselves  with  animal  fat,  those  of  warm 
countries  take  the  same  thing  in  vegetable  oils.  In  most 
warm  climates  olive-oil  is  taken,  and  in  India  ghee,  with 
no  inconvenience  to  digestion  and  with  unmistakable 
benefit." 

An  interesting  article  on  the  subject  of  fats,  by  Dr. 
Radcliffe,  was  published  in  the  Popular  Science  Monthly 
(March,  1883).  It  is  in  the  form  of  a  dialogue  between 
a  physician  and  a  young  man  who  had  eaten  a  breakfast 
of  lean  meat  and  toast  in  anticipation  of  a  hard  day's 
rowing.  The  physician  explains  to  the  young  man  his 
mistake,  and  shows  that,  as  force-producing  agents,  fat 
and  oil  are  as  necessary  as  fibrine  or  albumen. 

He  also  says  :  "  I  find  that  very  many  persons  suffer- 
ing from  various  chronic  disorders  of  the  nervous  sys- 
tem have  abstained  from  the  fatty  and  oily  articles  of 
food,  and  that  their  state  is  almost  invariably  very  much 
changed  for  the  better  when  induced  to  take  what  they 
have  avoided." 

Because  we  have,  perhaps,  been  mistaken  in  taking 
too  little  fat  in  the  past,  it  is  not  recommended  that  too 
large  a  quantity  be  taken  in  the  future. 


20  Remarks  about  Foods. 

Pavy  says  the  supply  ought  not  to  be  less,  even  with 
inactivity,  than  one  ounce  daily,  and  that  about  two  and 
a  half  ounces  will  constitute  the  average  amount  in  the 
dietaries  recommended  for  working  people. 

Fresh  milk  furnishes  fat  in  proper  proportions. 
Cream  and  butter  furnish  the  most  assimilable  fat. 
Bread  generously  buttered  (not  too  much  so,  however), 
meat  with  streaks  of  fat,  and  the  oil  dressing  on  salads 
will  ordinarily  afford  a  sufficient  supply.  Pork  fat  is 
the  most  objectionable  of  the  fats  to  persons  of  seden- 
tary habits. 

Dobell  says :  "  When  it  is  necessary,  for  any  special 
object,*  to  reduce  the  quantity  of  carbon  taken  in  the 
aliments,  this  can  more  safely  be  done  by  diminishing 
the  saccharine,  amylaceous  (sugar  and  starch)  matters, 
than  the  fat." 

Eggs. 

Eggs  contain  all  that  is  required  for  the  building 
and  maintenance  of  the  body.  They  are,  therefore,  a 
most  invaluable  article  of  food.  The  white  is  almost 
pure  albumen  and  water,  and  the  yolk  contains  the  fat 
and  other  necessary  constituents.  They  are  more  easily 
digested  when  taken  raw  or  slightly  cooked,  as  described 
for  poached  eggs  (cooked  in  water  below  the  boiling- 
point).  Continued  boiling,  or  cooking  in  any  manner, 
toughens  the  albumen  and  renders  it  difficult  of  diges- 
tion. Indeed,  a  valuable  cement  is  made  by  thickening 
the  white  of  egg  with  powdered  quicklime,  and  heating 
it.  The  whole  egg  can  be  made  hard  and  tough  enough 
by  heating  to  become  a  cement  of  itself. 

ElCE. 

Rice  is  very  rich  in  starch,  and  poor  in  fat  and  al- 
buminous matter.     It  contains  less  than  half  the  muscle- 

*  For  instance,  to  reduce  corpulency. — Ed. 


Corn-starch,  Arrow-root^  Sago,  Tapioca,  etc.      21 

supporting  elements  of  wheat,  and  only  one  fourth  as 
much  of  those  going  to  support  the  brain  and  nerves. 
Kice-eaters  ure,  therefore,  feeble  and  indolent.  The  de- 
ficiencies, however,  can  be  supplied  by  cooking  it  with 
milk  or  eggs. 

It  is  very  digestible,  requiring  only  little  more  than 
an  hour  for  the  process.  In  weak  conditions  of  the 
stomach  and  bowels  it  is  valuable.  Rice-water,  a  thin 
mucilage,  is  a  drink  often  administered  with  benefit 
in  fevers  and  in  inflammation  of  the  bowels. 

CORN-STAKCII   AND   AeEOW-EOOT. 

Corn -starch,  and  arrow -root,  composed  chiefly  of 
starch,  are  inadequate  to  sustain  life  without  the  addi- 
tion of  milk  or  other  nutritive  substances. 

Sago  and  Tapioca. 
These  are  also  starch  foods,  and  they  rank  very  low 
in  an  alimentary  point  of  view.     They  are  chiefly  used 
as   pleasant  additions  to  custard   puddings,  and  as  a 
thickening  for  soups. 

Beans  and  Pease. 
These  are  rich  in  nutritious  material.  Their  muscle- 
making  element  is  not  gluten,  as  in  the  grains,  but 
caseine,  as  in  cheese,  a  substance  not  so  easily  digested  as 
gluten,  and  therefore  only  adapted  to  strong  and  ac- 
tive persons,  with  good  powers  of  digestion. 

Gelatine. 
Jellies  and  blanc-mange  made  with  gelatine  are  very 
appetizing,  but  cannot  be  relied  on  as  furnisliing 
nourishment.  Calves' -foot  jelly  was  once  regarded 
as  a  valuable  dish  in  the  sick-room.  It  is  a  very  pleas- 
ant vehicle  for  serving  wine  or  milk ;  but,  beyond  this. 


22  Remarhs  about  Foods. 

it  is  now  believed  to  be  valueless  by  all  the  best  authori- 
ties. Several  years  ago  a  committee  was  appointed  by 
the  French  Academy  of  Sciences  to  ascertain  the  die- 
tetical  value  of  gelatine.  This  was  on  account  of  tlie 
fact  that  gelatinous  extract  of  bones  was  being  fed  to 
the  inmates  of  hospitals  with  apparently  deleterious  re- 
sults. The  commission,  with  Magentie  at  its  head,  re- 
ported gelatine  to  be  substantially  w^orthless  as  a  diet. 

Tomatoes. 

The  tomato,  according  to  Dio  Lewis,  is  a  medicinal 
vegetable  containing  some  amount  of  calomel — enough 
to  produce  a  degree  of  salivation  if  used  too  freely.  He 
thinks  the  tomato  should  be  used  moderately  in  cooked 
form,  as  a  sauce,  etc.  He  has  known,  in  his  practice,  of 
patients  suffering  with  sore  mouths,  tender  and  bleeding 
gums,  with  loose  teeth,  and  with  piles,  produced  by  the 
immoderate  use  of  tomatoes. 

However  wholesome  a  certain  amount  of  cooked 
fresh  tomatoes  may  be,  the  physicians  generally  de- 
nounce the  use  of  them  when  put  up  in  tin  cans.  The 
tendency  of  the  acid  of  the  vegetable  is  to  corrode  the 
tin,  and  thereby,  to  some  degree,  poison  the  tomatoes. 

FpwUits — Grapes,  Bananas,  etc. 
Fruits  are  cooling,  aperient,  and  nutritious,  and  are  al- 
most as  necessary  to  a  healthful  dietary  as  the  grains, 
especially  in  warm  climates.  They  cool  and  refresh  us 
in  summer,  supplying  grateful  acids  and  fluids.  They 
are  grown  on  all  inhabitable  parts  of  the  earth,  and 
many  of  them  can  be  kept  in  all  seasons.  Different 
varieties  of  fruits  follow  each  other  in  close  succession 
during  the  season  of  growth,  the  acid  fruits  coming  gen- 
erally in  the  spring,  when  the  system  needs  anti-bilious 
food,  after  the  winter  dietary. 


Fruits.  23 

Next  to  the  apple,  the  king  of  fruits,  the  grape  is 
probably  the  most  valuable  in  our  climate.  Its  bene- 
ficial action  seems  almost  medicinal.  After  eating  the 
grape  regularly  for  some  time,  when  it  is  fresh  picked 
from  the  vine  and  redolent  of  the  sun,  general  exhilara- 
tion is  produced  ;  the  blood  seems  richer  and  a  healthy 
glow  of  color  comes  to  the  cheeks.  Besides  the  tonic 
effect,  the  grape  contains  much  nourishment. 

They  have  in  France,  Switzerland,  and  Germany 
w^hat  are  called  grape-cures,  where  persons  suffering 
from  dyspepsia,  scrofula,  gout,  and  cutaneous  diseases 
are  treated  during  the  grape  season  with  much  success. 
Patients  eat  the  grapes  to  repletion  several  times  a  day, 
and  at  regular  intervals,  generally  taking  nothing  with 
them  but  bread-and-butter  and  water.  Dr.  Barthelow 
says,  however  :  "  The  influence  of  change  of  air,  of  scen- 
ery, and  of  the  hygienic  rules  enforced  at  these  resorts 
sliould  not  be  ignored  in  an  estimate  of  the  value  of  the 
method."  Hot-house  grapes,  and  the  California  grapes 
after  transportation  to  the  Eastern  States,  will  not  an- 
swer the  purpose,  nor  take  the  place  of  the  Isabella, 
Concord,  Catawba,  and  other  varieties  grown  in  the  open 
air,  fully  ripe  and  fresh  from  the  vine. 

Another  nutritive  fruit  is  the  banana.  It  contains  a 
large  percentage  of  starch  and  sugar,  and  enough  nitrog- 
enous matter  to  make  it  of  alimentary  value.  It  is 
similar  in  composition  to  the  potato.  In  some  tropical 
countries  it  is  much  used  as  a  food.  On  a  plantation 
in  Cuba  the  owner  took  us  to  see  the  negroes  prepare 
their  dinner.  A  huge  iron  pot,  hanging  over  burning 
fagots,  was  filled  with  a  combination  of  materials  mak- 
ing a  sort  of  ragout.  The  chief  ingredient,  they  told 
us,  was  the  banana. 

For  invalids,  berries  with  hard  seeds — strawberries, 
raspberries,  etc. — are  often  indigestible.     Many  of  our 


24:  Remarks  about  Foods. 

marketable  strawberries  are  so  very  acid  and  devoid  of 
flavor,  that  they,  especially,  cannot  be  recommended  to 
invalids. 

Stewed  fruits  (compotes)  are  very  wholesome  and 
beneficial  for  almost  any  one.  They  should  be  served 
in  some  form  every  day,  provided  a  laxative  diet  is  not 
at  the  time  objectionable. 

When  oranges,  and  they  are  especially  excellent  in 
all  febrile  conditions,  are  administered  to  invalids,  they 
should  be  quite  sweet.  There  seem  to  be  as  many 
varieties  of  oranges  as  of  apples.  Although  a  juicy, 
crisp,  moderately  sweet,  and  well-ripened  apple  is  the 
most  wholesome  and  digestible  of  fruits,  there  are  ap- 
ples which  can  defy  the  ordinary  stomach,  and  which 
set  the  teeth  on  edge  to  even  think  about ;  so  it  is  with 
some  oranges,  which  are  only  fit  for  orangeade.  The 
sweet,  juicy,  thin-skinned,  little  Florida  orange,  and  the 
more  rugged  skinned,  though  juicy  and  sweet,  Havana 
ornnge  can  be  judiciously  given  to  almost  any  invalid, 
while  their  more  common  and  acrid  relatives  should  be 
as  carefully  avoided. 

Baked  apples  served  with  cream  and  sugar  are  a 
standard  dish  for  the  sick-room.  They  are  digestible, 
laxative,  and  very  wholesome. 

The  dried  fruits,  especially  the  California  dried  pears 
and  the  white  apple-chips,  are  very  refreshing  and  safe, 
and  should  be  more  used  when  fresh  fruits  cannot  be 
obtained. 

If  fruits  are  not  quite  ripe,  or  do  not  agree  with  one, 
cooking  them  with  sugar  increases  their  digestibility. 

Acid  fruits  put  up  in  tin  cans  are  exceedingly  doubt- 
ful. If  they  taste  of  the  tin,  they  are  not  at  all  doubt- 
ful. Avoid  them.  Probably,  in  the  future,  tomatoes 
and  acid  fruits  will  be  generally  put  up  in  glass  jars,  if 
something  else  less  breakable  than  glass,  and  without 


Sea-moss  Farine  and  Sea  Moss.  25 

the  objections  to  tin,  cannot  be  found.     Here  is  an  op- 
portunity for  some  inventor. 

Sea-Moss  Fakine  and  Sea  Moss. 

An  article  was  sold  several  years  ago,  at  all  the  gro- 
cers, called  sea -moss  farine.  It  was  a  most  excellent 
preparation,  especially  valuable  for  invalids,  and  could 
be  made  into  various  blanc-manges  and  puddings,  ac- 
cording to  directions  accompanying  the  packages.  I 
have  tried  in  vain  to  obtain  it  within  the  last  two  or 
three  years,  and  it  seems  to  be  out  of  market.  I  hope 
very  much  to  see  it  in  market  again,  as  it  is  an  especial- 
ly valuable  health-food. 

Sea  moss  is  very  nutritious,  exceedingly  digestible 
and  wholesome,  and  can  be  used  to  advantage  for  al- 
most any  invalid.  Its  flavor  takes  one  to  the  sea-shore, 
it  matters  not  how  far  away.  The  blanc-manges  made 
from  the  Irish  and  Iceland  mosses  are  especially  good. 
2 


THE  NEW  HEALTH- FOODS  AKB    OTHER 
GRAIN  PREPARATIONS. 

The  new  methods  of  preparing  cereals  by  the  Healtli- 
food  Company  of  New  York  have  produced  the  most 
gratifying  results.  These  foods  are  of  inestimable  val- 
ue to  the  invalid.  Indeed,  they  constitute  a  pleasant 
and  wholesome  diet  for  any  one.  Tlieir  use  tends  to 
preserve  health,  and  preservation  is  far  pleasanter  than 
restoration. 

The  manufacture  of  foods  after  methods  based  on 
careful  scientific  investigation,  specially  adapted  to  the 
needs  of  different  individuals  and  diseases — for  instance, 
foods  for  the  corpulent,  or  the  excessively  lean,  for  in- 
fants, for  diabetics  and  dyspeptics,  and  for  persons  gen- 
erally debilitated,  ^vhere  serviceable  treatment  must  be 
chiefly  dietetic,  is  of  especial  value. 

Heretofore  in  the  treatment  of  diabetes,  where  the 
patient  is  obliged  to  eschew  all  foods  containing  starch 
or  sugar,  thereby  depriving  him  of  bread  and  all  grain 
preparations,  the  physician  has  had  much  embarrassment. 
The  "Diabetic  Food,"  consisting  of  gluten,  which  is 
nutritious  and  very  digestible,  is  a  boon  to  these  suf- 
ferers. 

It  is  known  that  heretofore  in  milling  wheat  the 
most  nutritive  portion  of  the  grain,  the  gluten,  lying 
next  to  the  hull,  was  removed.  The  white  flour,  mak- 
ing bread  quite  beautiful  in  appearance,  is  chiefly  com- 
posed of  starch,  and  is  incapable  of  sustaining  life. 

A    distinguished   physician    said,  "  The   intelligent 


Prepared  Articles  of  Food.  27 

farmer  knows  liow  to  feed  his  land,  his  horses,  his  cat- 
tle, and  his  pigs ;  but  not  how  to  feed  his  children. 
The  fine  flour,  containing  neither  food  for  brain  nor 
muscle,  he  gives  to  his  children,  and  the  whole  grain  or 
the  bran  and  coarser  part,  containing  food  for  brain 
and  muscle,  he  gives  to  his  pigs." 

Formerly,  in  the  preparation  of  Graham  flour  and 
cracked  wheat,  although  the  full  nutriment  of  the  grain 
was  preserved,  the  hull,  a  woody,  fibrous  skin,  was  re- 
tained. This  proved  to  be  irritating  to  some  delicate 
stomachs,  although  authorities  say  that  it  serves  a  good 
purpose  for  vigorous  persons,  viz.,  of  promoting  by  a 
healthy  irritation  the  secretions  and  motion  of  the 
bowels. 

The  Health-food  Company  manufacture,  besides  flour 
with  its  full  richness  of  gluten,  coarser  preparations  of 
the  cereals,  such  as  granulated  wheat,  oats,  barley,  corn, 
etc.,  with  the  silicious  skin  removed. 

Some  of  the  articles  prepared  by  this  company,  which 
may  be  commended  as  deserving,  are : 

The  CoLD-BLAST  Whole  Wheat  Flouk — represented 
to  contain  the  full  nutrition  of  the  grain. 

Pearled  Wheat. — The  whole  grains  of  best  wheat 
denuded  of  their  bran  coats. 

Granulated  Wheat  (Coarse) — which  takes  the  place 
of  the  ordinary  w beaten  grits  or  cracked  wheat,  is  also 
prepared  without  the  bran  coats.  The  last  two  prepa- 
rations make  an  especially  palatable  dish,  prepared  ac- 
cording to  the  Vienna  Bakery  receipt  given  on  page  128. 

Granulated  Wheat  (Fine) — takes  the  place  of  Gra- 
liam  flour.     This  flour  can  be  employed  in  the  various 


28  The  New  Health-foods,  etc. 

ways  in  which  Graham  flour  is  used,  viz.,  for  making 
bread,  crackers,  mush,  pancakes,  croquettes,  puddings, 
thickenings  for  soups,  sauces,  etc. 

This  company  prepares  also  White  Wheat  Glutei, 
a  concentrated,  digestible,  and  nutritious  food.  Being 
free  from  starch,  it  is  recommended  to  those  suffering 
from  dyspepsia,  diabetes,  and  Eright's  disease,  and  also 
as  an  anti-fat  diet. 

It  was  not  found  to  be  very  palatable  by  the  author. 
It  can  be  made  into  bread  "gems,"  mush,  pancakes, 
puddings,  etc.  If  some  starch  be  unobjectionable,  the 
gluten  is  much  pleasanter  to  tlie  taste  "wlien  mixed  with 
flour,  rice,  or  barley. 

Geanulated  Baeley. — Bellows  says  of  barley :  "  This 
cereal  compares  well  with  wheat  in  nutritive  elements, 
but  does  not  form  bread ;  is  used  for  making  barley- 
cakes,  which  are  valuable  for  persons  inclined  to  con- 
stipation, containing,  as  it  does,  more  of  waste  which  is 
the  natural  stimulant  of  the  bowels.  Barley  is  peculiar 
also  for  its  richness  in  phosphates,  having  more  than 
twice  the  amount  contained  in  wheat;  and  therefore 
might  be  made  useful  to  literary  men  of  sedative  hab- 
its, adapted  as  it  is  both  to  promote  the  action  of  the 
brain  and  bowels." 

The  pearl  barley  ordinarily  used  in  soups  is  a  grain 
that  does  not  dissolve  in  the  cooking  process,  and  is 
quite  unfit  to  be  used  in  the  sick-room. 

The  "  Granulated  Barley  "  of  the  Health-food  Com- 
pany dissolves  as  easily  as  rice.  It  is  a  valuable  prepa- 
ration and  can  be  used  to  great  advantage  in  a  variety 
of  puddings,  the  best  being  a  souffle  pudding  (page  192) ; 
also  in  pancakes,  gruel,  thickening  for  soups,  blanc- 
mange, etc. 


Prepared  Ai'tieles  of  Food.  29 

The  best  preparation  I  have  seen  for  making  barley 
gruel  (one  of  the  most  valuable  of  gruels)  is  Kobinson's 
barley  flour.  It  is  manufactured  in  England,  but  is 
very  generally  sold  here  by  the  druggists.  It  is  exceed- 
ingly palatable  and  valuable  for  invalids. 

Peaeled  Oats. — Good  for  making  porridge ;  also  the 
Geanulated  Oats,  admirable  for  puddings,  gruels,  etc., 
and  the  Oat  Flour,  especially  good  for  gruels.  These 
are  all  articles  which  can  be  used  beneficially  in  many 
different  ways. 

"  Cekeal  Coffee" — made  of  barley  and  wheat  glu- 
ten parched.  It  is  a  good  substitute  for  tea  and  coffee. 
It  has  some  of  the  coffee  flavor  and  is  without  more 
stimulant  than  is  imparted  by  any  nourishing  drink. 

Among  other  of  the  health -food  preparations  are 
crackers  made  of  the  cold -blast  flour,  gluten,  oats, 
granulated  wheat,  etc. 

The  manufacturers  of  what  is  known  as  the  new 
patent  -  process  flour  claim  that  it  also  contains  the 
full  gluten  of  the  grain.  The  flour  is  necessarily  of  a 
creamy  color,  gluten  being  light  brown  in  appearance. 
This  flour  can  be  obtained  of  grocers  in  all  of  the  large 
cities.  If  the  flour  sold  for  the  "new-process"  flour 
is  purely  white,  it  is  not  genuine.  If  the  necessary 
amount  of  gluten  is  retained  it  must  color  it  to  some 
extent,  indeed,  to  the  extent  of  giving  it  a  decidedly 
creamy  hue. 

There  are  agencies  in  the  large  cities  for  cereal  foods 
(oatmeal,  barley,  groats,  hominy,  cornmeal,  etc.)  pre- 
pared at  Akron,  Ohio,  which  are  most  excellent.  The 
Graham  flour  from  this  source  is  especially  fine. 


30  The  New  Health-foods^  etc. 

The  best  oatmeal  which  can  be  obtained  is  the  im- 
ported Irish  oatmeal.  It  can  be  purchased  of  the  first- 
class  grocers  in  New  York,  but  the  author  has  not  been 
able  to  find  it  elsewhere.  It  is  more  palatable  than  the 
Scotch  or  American  oatmeal,  the  grain  being  much 
larger. 

The  concentrated  foods  so  industriously  advertised 
are  not  recommended  by  the  authorities.  A  certain 
amount  of  bulk  is  necessary,  and  the  less  nutritive  por- 
tions of  food  perform  a  very  necessary  function  in  the 
process  of  digestion. 


KOUMISS. 

This  nutritions  beverage,  made  of  fermented  milk, 
lias  been  hitherto  comparatively  unknown  in  our  coun- 
try. It  has  been  used  for  centuries  in  Tartary  and  in 
Asiatic  Russia.  It  is  there  chiefly  made  of  mares'  milk 
(see  Appendix).  Mares'  milk  differs  from  cows'  milk, 
the  former  possessing  (according  to  Pavy)  a  smaller 
amount  of  nitrogenous  matter  and  butter,  and  a  much 
larger  amount  of  sugar.  By  adding  sugar  to  cows' 
milk  a  koumiss  may  be  obtained  superior  in  its  nutri- 
tive properties  to  that  made  of  mares'  milk. 

Koumiss  is  of  incalculable  value  for  almost  all  inva- 
lids, containing  the  full  nutriment  of  milk  and  the 
stimulating  qualities  of  wines  and  liquors  without  any 
ill-effects. 

Dr.  Dobell,  of  London,  in  his  valuable  work  on  "  Diet 
and  Regimen,"  says:  "Koumiss,  when  properly  pre- 
pared, is  a  highly  refreshing,  effervescent  preparation  of 
milk  obtained  by  a  natural  process  of  fermentation,  in 
which  the  albumen  and  caseine  are  partly  digested,  while 
its  abundance  of  free  carbonic  acid  makes  it  sedative 
to  the  most  irritable  stomach,  so  that  it  has  succeeded 
in  numerous  cases,  recorded  by  medical  practitioners, 
where  stimulants,  beef -tea,  and  rectal  enemata,  aided 
by  the  most  varied  pharmacopoeial  treatment,  had  alike 
failed. 

"  Its  chief  qualities  are : 

"(a.)  Its  agreeable,  refreshing,  and  highly  digestible 
character. 


32  Koumiss. 

"(^.)  Its  attested  and  rare  powers  of  nutrition,  in 
the  most  desperate  cases  of  emaciation,  chronic  vomit- 
ing, dyspepsia,  gastric  pain,  and  irritability,  and  of 
debility  following  acute  or  accompanying  chronic  dis- 
eases. 

"((?.)  The  avidity  and  pleasure  with  which  it  is  drank 
by  children,  women,  and  men,  in  health  and  disease,  and 
in  its  remarkable  success  in  allaying  vomiting  and  gas- 
tralgia,  and  in  restoring  the  nutrition." 

Dr.Eoberts  Barthelow,  in  his  "  Materia  Medica,"  says : 
"Koumiss  differs  from  whey  in  containing  the  nutritive 
constituents  of  milk,  and  from  milk  itself  in  the  impor- 
tant respect  that  it  is,  in  addition,  an  effervescing,  alco- 
holic fluid.  .  .  .  The  tolerance  of  the  stomach  to  koumiss 
is  remarkable,  even  in  cases  of  gastralgia.  It  improves 
the  appetite,  and  excites  the  action  of  the  kidneys.  The 
patients  experience  a  pleasing  exhilaration,  due  proba- 
bly to  the  combined  action  of  the  carbonic  acid  and  the 
alcohol.  It  also  causes  somnolence  during  the  da}^  and 
favors  sleep  at  night,  without  leaving  any  after  head- 
ache. Its  most  important  action  is  the  increase  of  the 
body  nutrition.  .  .  .  Koumiss  possesses  great  value  in 
the  treatment  of  consumption,  chronic  bronchitis,  the 
low  stages  of  fever,  the  stage  of  convalescence  from 
acute  diseases — in  fact,  in  all  adynamic  states  in  which 
the  combined  effect  of  alcohol  and  nutrients  may  be  de- 
sirable." 

Jaqielsky  says  that  he  has  had  patients  gain  as  much 
as  ten  pounds  a  month,  when  no  other  food  was  taken. 

Koumiss,  in  its  administration,  may  be  given  like 
milk  or  beer.  In  extreme  cases  of  feebleness  of  diges- 
tion, this  being  the  only  food,  a  glassful  every  two  hours 
would  be  sufficient.  With  increased  facility  of  diges- 
tion and  assimilation  from  a  quart  to  a  gallon  a  day 
may  be  taken.     When  served  with  other  food,  a  glass- 


Merits  of  Koumiss.  33 

fill  can  be  drank  before  or  after  a  meal  as  preferred. 
It  is  a  food  in  itself — a  solid  food,  like  milk,  containing 
all  the  elements  or  requisites  of  nutrition.  The  caseine 
of  milk  turns  into  curd  in  the  stomach,  and  leaves  a 
solid  residue.  It  is  estimated  that  each  quart  of  kou- 
miss contains  four  ounces  of  solid  food. 

After  such  a  richesse  of  authority  (and  there  is  much 
more  before  me)  it  would  seem  unnecessary  to  mention 
that  I  have  become  enthusiastic  as  to  the  merits  of 
koumiss,  after  having  seen  its  almost  miraculous  effects 
upon  a  member  of  our  own  family.  In  this  case  no 
food  whatever  seemed  assimilable  until  koumiss  was 
prescribed.  This  led  me  to  investigate  and  experiment 
with  the  making  of  koumiss  with  results  which  I  hope 
will  prove  as  satisfactory  to  others  as  myself. 

There  are  two  kinds  of  koumiss — one  quite  acid,  like 
that  generally  sold  at  pharmacies  in  the  large  cities ;  the 
imported  koumiss  is  also  quite  acid.  The  venders  of 
this  koumiss  say  that  it  improves  with  age,  that  two  or 
three  years  old  being  considered  especially  good.  This 
acid  koumiss  would  be  indicated  in  cases  of  fever,  rlieu- 
matism,  etc.,  when  acid  drinks,  such  as  buttermilk,  lem- 
onade, etc.,  are  relished  and  required. 

For  a  more  ordinary  and  general  drink  the  sweet 
koumiss  (perhaps  it  can  hardly  be  called  sweet,  as  the 
flavor  is  pungent,  not  unlike  beer),  made  as  imperfectly 
indicated  in  many  of  the  medical  works  is  preferable. 
This  is  at  its  best  from  four  days  to  a  month  old.  In 
my  own  experience,  there  were  several  days  when  our 
invalid  craved  something  acid.  Not  having  the  proper 
acid  koumiss  at  hand,  it  was  found  that  some  koumiss 
which  had  curdled  and  soured  (this  comes  from  the  bot- 
tle as  effervescent  as  that  which  has  not  curdled),  agreed 
with  her  perfectly  when  buttermilk  proved  indigestible. 
After  two  or  three  days  the  appetite  no  longer  called 
2* 


34  Koumiss. 

for  acid,  and  the  sweet  koumiss  was  more  assimilable  as 
well  as  better  relished.* 

When  it  is  desired  to  give  koumiss  to  babies,  they  can 
either  suck  it  from  the  end  of  the  champagne-tap,  the 
screw  being  turned  very  slightly,  or  a  little  koumiss  can 
be  drawn  into  a  pitcher  and  poured  from  one  pitcher  to 
another  until  most  of  the  gas  has  escaped.  The  infant 
can  then  drink  it  as  milk. 

To  Make  Koumiss. 

The  making  of  koumiss  is  very  simple.  It  requires 
perfectly  fresh  milk,  good  yeast,  a  little  sugar,  strong 
bottles  (those  used  for  champagne,  beer,  etc.),  a  corking- 
machine  (price,  fifty  cents),  a  little  tuition  in  the  profes- 
sional manner  of  tying  corks  in  bottles,  a  thermometer, 
a  funnel,  a  cold,  dark  place  in  a  cellar  answering  the 
purpose  of  a  beer  cave,  and  voila  tout — not  quite  all 
though,  for  if  one's  life  or  the  roof  of  the  house  is  re- 
garded of  value,  a  bottle  of  koumiss  should  not  be 
opened  without  a  champagne-tap. 

Fill  a  quart  bottle  about  three  quarters  full  of  fresh 
milk,  and  add  a  tablespoonful  of  fresh  (brewers')  lager- 
beer  yeast,  and  a  tablespoonful  of  sugar-syrup  (the  syrup 
is  made  allowing  three  lumps  of  sugar — little  squares  of 
loaf  sugar — or  a  tablespoonful  of  ordinary  white  sugar, 
for  each  quart  of  milk;  enough  water  to  cover  the  sugar 
is  added,  and  it  is  boiled  a  couple  of  minutes  to  make 
the  syrup,  not  allowing  it  to  candy) ;  shake  the  bottle 
well  for  a  full  minute,  to  thoroughly  mix  all  the  ingre- 
dients, then  fill  it  to  within  two  or  three  inches  of  the 
top  ;  shake  again,  to  get  all  well-mixed.     Cork  it  with  a 

*  The  author,  since  writing  this,  has  had  occasion  to  know  of  several 
other  invalids  wiio  have  tried  koumiss.  Tlie  very  acid  koumiss  usually 
sold  by  druggists  was  quite  unsatisfactory,  excepting  for  temporary  use  for 
fever,  whereas  the  fresh  koumiss  was  marvellously  successful. 


Bottling  Koumiss. 


35 


cork  a  third  of  a  size  larger  than  the  mouth  of  the 
bottle.  The  corks  must  have  been  previously  soaked 
for  two  or  three  hours,  iinmersed  in  hot  water  over  a 
warm  stove,  when  they  become  soft;  they  are  then 
pushed  through  the  corking-macliine  (see  cut)  with  a 
hammer,  or,  better,  a  wooden  mallet;  quite  heavy  and 
vigorous  blows  of  the  mallet  on  the 
handle  of  the  machine  will  not  break 
the  bottle,  as  one  might  suppose. 
The  corks  are  then  tied.  When  this 
operation  is  all  completed,  put  the 
bottles  in  a  standing  position  in  an 
even  (or  as  nearly  so  as  possible) 
temperature  of  52°  Fahr.,"^  where 
they  should  remain  for  two  and  a 
half  days.  Some  closed  closet  or 
cellar  in  w^inter  or  a  refrigerator  in 
summer  will  generally  afford  this 
temperature.  This  slow  fermenta- 
tion is  desirable.  At  the  end  of  the 
two  days  to  two  days  and  a  half, 
place  the  bottles  on  their  sides  and 
on  the  stone-floor  of  the  darkest  and 
coolest  place  in  the  cellar — or,  in 
default  of  such  place,  in  a  refrigera-  ^  ^ 
tor.  Many  consider  koumiss  at  its  "-^ 
best  when  it  is  five  or  six  days  old, 
but  it  can  be  kept  indefinitely  if 
kept  in  a  temperature  not  above  52°.  The  colder  it  is 
kept  without  freezing  the  better.  The  brewers'  lager- 
beer  yeast  is  decidedly  the  best  for  making  what  I  call 
the  sweet  koumiss,  imparting  to  it  a  beer  flavor.    As  the 

*  My  first  instructions  were  to  leave  the  koumiss  at  this  stage  in  a  tem- 
perature of  62°  for  the  two  and  a  half  days,  but  I  have  found,  by  experi- 
menting, that  a  temperature  as  low  as  52°  produces  even  better  results. 


.-^ 


CORK  MACHINE. 


36  Koumiss. 

koumiss  is  drawn  it  should  appear  in  the  glass  like  thick 
whipped  cream.  The  koumiss  will  become  acid  by  long 
standing,  or  by  placing  it  in  a  higher  temperature. 

Yery  good  koumiss  can  also  be  made  with  Fleisch- 
man's  Compressed  Yeast.  A  fifth  of  a  two-cent  cake 
of  this  yeast  to  a  quart  of  milk  is  the  proper  proportion. 
It  should  be  well-dissolved  before  it  is  added  to  the 
milk.  The  proportion  of  sugar  or  syrup  is  the  same  as 
when  the  other  yeast  is  used. 

If  the  milk  is  quite  fresh  and  sweet,  and  the  bottles 
are  perfectly  clean  and  free  from  acid,  there  is  little  dan- 
ger of  the  koumiss  curdling.  If  it  should -become  cur- 
dled, it  can  be  used  for  cooking  purposes.  It  makes 
the  best  of  biscuits,  pancakes,  or  anything  which  can  be 
made  with  sour  milk. 

Most  of  the  medical  works  advise  the  use  of  old  kou- 
miss instead  of  yeast  to  produce  fermentation.  This 
I  would  not  recommend.  After  the  koumiss  is  made 
one  or  two  days,  a  thick  curd  (the  caseine)  will  gen- 
erally be  found  at  the  top.  It  is  also  recommended  to 
turn  the  bottles  two  or  three  times  (not  shake  them,  for 
fear  of  explosion)  so  as  to  mix  this  curd  with  the  liquid 
below.  I  was  quite  particular  about  this  at  first,  but, 
becoming  more  negligent,  found  that  the  koumiss  was 
quite  as  good  without  this  care.  When  the  bottles  are 
turned  to  the  side  (after  the  two  and  a  half  days),  the 
caseine  is  loosened  from  the  top,  and  when  the  koumiss 
is  drawn,  the  effervescing  gas  accomplishes  the  mixing. 

To  Tie  the  Bottles. — With  a  strong  hemp  twine 
make  a  loop  as  in  Fig.  1,  page  37. 

In  Fig.  2,  the  twine  at  a  is  drawn  up,  and  in  Fig.  3  it 
is  placed  over  the  top  of  the  cork.  The  two  ends,  5,  ^, 
are  drawn  as  firmly  as  possible  under  the  rim  of  the 
bottle,  c,  as  in  Fig.  3. 


To  Tie  and  Cork  the  Bottles, 


37 


The  ends,  5,  5,  are  then  tied  firmly  over  the  top  of  the 
cork,  Fig.  4.  If  the  twine  is  not  quite  strong,  the  bot- 
tle can  be  doubly  tied. 

The  Cokks. — The  corks  should  be  obtained  at  a  cork 
factory  or  wholesale  cork  store.  The  directories  in  the 
larger  cities  will  give  sucli 
addresses.  They  there  cost 
fifty    to    sixty   cents    a     ^^-^:^^^  ^^  I'^igi- 

gross,  instead  of  a  cent    h 


the  same  size,  the  same  corl 


each  as  at  the  druggists. 
The  straight  cork  used 
by  the  Anheuser  Eeer 
Company  is  of  the  proper 
size  and  of  best  quality. 
The  necks  of  champagne 
and  beer  bottles  are  of 
answerine:  for  either. 


To  Clean  the  Bottles. — If  the  koumiss  is  not  acid, 
merely  cleansing  the  bottles,  as  soon  as  emptied,  and 
tilling  them  with  cold  water  will  be  sufficient.  If  any 
acid  remain  in  the  bottle,  shake  it  well,  half  filled  with 


38 


Koumiss. 


water,  with  a  half  teaspoonful  of  soda  added.  Ponr 
this  out,  add  another  half  teaspoonful  of  soda,  fill  the 
bottle  with  water,  and  let  it  renriain  until  it  is  wanted 
for  use,  when  it  should  be  rinsed  with  fresh  water. 

The    Champagne    Tap.  —  It 
must  be  repeated  that  the  kou- 
miss   bottle    should    never    be 
opened  except  by  a  champagne 
tap.     The  best  one  for  the  pur- 
pose that  I  have  found  is  rep- 
resented in  cut. 
There  is  another  kind  of  tap  with 
a  wire  enclosed  in  a  tube,  which  wire  has  to 
be  withdrawn  after  it  is  in  the  cork,  before 
the   screw   is  turned.     The  developments 
are   disastrous    while   the   wire   is    being 
drawn  out,  before  the  very  important  screw 
can  be  turned. 

After  the  tap  is  in  the  bottle,  keep  the 
neck  of  the  bottle  always  down  to  prevent 
the  escape  of  gas.  Keep  the  bottle  also  in 
a  cool,  dark  place. 

It  has  occurred  to  me  that  the  making  of 
koumiss  might  often  afford  profitable  em- 
ployment for  women.  After  perfecting 
themselves  in  its  manufacture,  they  might  send  notices 
and  samples  to  neighboring  physicians  and  then  sell  it 
through  the  agency  of  druggists  or  grocers ;  the  latter 
having  generally  better  means  for  the  transportation 
and  delivery  of  articles.  The  difficulty  in  procuring 
quite  fresh  milk  in  the  large  cities  might  preclude  its 
best  manufacture  there. 


CHAMPAGNE 
TAP. 


ARTIFICIAL  DiaUSTIOlSr  BY  MEAN'S   OF 
PANGBEATIC  FERMENTS. 

Impoktant  discoveries  have  lately  been  made  in  the 
matter  of  supplying  artificially  digested,  or  partly  di- 
gested, food,  which  is  of  great  benefit  in  the  treatment 
of  certain  diseased  conditions.  The  digestive  agent  is 
pancreatic  juice,  or  ferment,  which  can  be  taken  from 
animals  in  an  active,  potent  form.  This  is  mixed  with 
milk,  milk  gruel,  milk  punch,  beef  tea,  and  other  foods, 
as  explained  in  the  receipts.  Such  digested  food  is  es- 
pecially indicated  w^ien  there  is  an  inability  to  digest 
the  casein e  of  milk,  or  starch  or  fats,  as  often  occurs 
with  infants  unable  to  retain  milk  in  the  stomach,  and 
with  consumptives  who  cannot  digest  fats.  It  is  also 
indicated  in  cases  of  extreme  emaciation  or  weakness, 
in  cases  of  typhoid  fevers,*  and  especially  in  gastric 
troubles  brought  on  by  alcoholic  excesses. 

It  is  probably  better  to  resort  to  artificial  digestion 
only  in  extreme  cases,  where  exercise  and  bracing  air 
cannot  accomplish  their  usual  results  in  aid  of  natural 
digestion. 

Pepsin  for  stomachic  indigestion  has  long  been  in 
use.  Much  of  the  digestive  process,  especially  in  the 
case  of  fats  and  starches,  takes  place  when  the  food  has 
left  the  stomach  and  entered  the  large  intestine.     This 

*  The  ulcerated  bowels,  common  to  typhoid  fever,  must  not  be  exposed 
to  the  irritation  of  foods  that  leave  a  solid  residue  after  digestion.  The 
curdling  of  the  caseine  of  milk  can  be  prevented  by  giving  it  already  di- 
gested (peptonized). 


40  Artificial  Digestion. 

may  be  called  intestinal  digestion.  It  is  here  that  the 
pancreatic  ferment  does  its  work. 

For  information  on  this  subject,  viz.,  the  practical  use 
of  pancreatic  extract  and  its  action  on  the  human  sys- 
tem treated  philosophically,  we  are  indebted  to  Dr. 
William  Eoberts,  of  Manchester,  England.  This  infor- 
mation was  given  in  a  series  of  lectures  before  the 
Royal  College  of  Physicians,  which  have  since  been 
published  in  book  form,  entitled  "  On  the  Digestive 
Ferments." 

In  our  own  country  a  preparation  of  the  pancreas, 
called  "Extractum  Pancreatis,"  is  made  by  Fairchild 
Brothers  &  Foster,  ^N'ew  York  City.  Mr.  Fairchild  has 
published  a  small  book  on  the  subject,  having  given  it  a 
very  thorough  investigation.  His  extract  is  in  powdered 
form,  is  easily  kept,  and  quite  perfect  in  its  results. 

Dr.  Horace  Dobell  has  also  contributed  valuable  in- 
formation on  the  same  subject ;  having,  in  fact,  pre- 
ceded Dr.  Roberts  in  his  publications.  His  experi- 
ments have  been  chiefly  directed  to  the  action  of  the 
pancreas  on  fats.*  An  article,  which  can  be  obtained 
in  most  of  our  large  cities  (prepared  by  Savory  & 
Moore,  of  London),  called  "Pancreatic  Emulsion,"  i.  e., 
pancreatized  suet,  cod-liver  oil,  etc.,  is  the  result  of  his 
investigations.  This  aliment  is  considered  especially 
valuable  for  consumptives.     (See  Appendix,  p.  212.) 

Dr.  Dobell  says :  "  Pancreatic  emulsion  has  proved 
most  magical  in  its  effects  on  miserable,  wasted  children 
— children  who  have  been  subjected  to  chronic  defects 
in  diet ;  for  instance,  when  the  mother's  milk  is  poor 
in  fat  and  lactine,  or  when  the  child's  diet  has  been  de- 

*  The  albuminoids  and  starch  have  been  digested  with  pepsin  and  vege- 
table diastase;  no  other  digestive  agent  has  been  found  to  emulsify  f^it  but 
pancreatine ;  the  pancreas,  however,  is  the  only  organ  concerned  in  the 
digestion  of  fiat. 


To  Peptonize  Milk.  41 

ficient  in  milk  and  fat  elements,  and  the  pancreas  has 
been  partly  paralyzed  by  prolonged  inactivity,  causing  a 
kind  of  wasting  (marasmus)." 

In  the  preparation  of  the  various  foods  with  the  pan- 
creatic extract,  the  process  of  digestion  is  stopped  a 
little  short  of  completion,  to  prevent  the  formation  of 
offensive  products  which  full  digestion  would  develop. 

In  any  of  the  following  receipts  the  milk  or  food 
may  be  more  or  less  peptonized.*  For  ordinary  cases, 
especially  for  infants,  it  is  better  to  partially  peptonize 
the  food.  The  degree  of  peptonizing  is  best  determined 
by  the  readiness  with  which  the  food  is  assimilated  by 
the  patient.  To  check  the  action  of  the  digestive  fer- 
ment, the  food,  when  sufficiently  peptonized,  can  either 
be  placed  on  ice,  which  at  once  arrests  all  action  (and  is 
a  commentary  on  the  reckless  habit  of  drinking  ice- 
water),  or  it  can  be  scalded,  or  brought  to  the  boiling- 
point.  It  is  afterwards  kept  like  ordinary  milk.  Pep- 
tonized milk  gruel  is  generally  preferred  to  the  pepton- 
ized milk. 

To  Peptonize  Milk. 

In  a  clean  quart  bottle  put  a  powder  of  five  grains  of 
Extractum  Pancreatis  (about  a  quarter  of  a  teaspoonful), 
also  fifteen  grains  of  sodaf  (a  pinch),  and  a  gill  of  water 
(half  a  cupful) ;  shake  it,  then  add  a  pint  of  quite  fresh 
milk. 

Place  the  bottle  in  a  pitcher  of  hot  water,  or  set  the 
bottle  aside  in  a  warm  place  for  an  hour,  or  an  hour 
and  a  half,  to  keep  the  milk  warm — about  110°,  or  the 
natural  temperature  of  the  body.  "When  the  contents 
of  the  bottle  assume  a  grayish-yellow  color,  and  a 
slightly  bitter  taste,  then  the  milk  is  thoroughly  pep- 

*  The  word  peptonized  is  used  as  synonymous  with  pancreatized. 
f  A  newer  preparation  of  the  pancreatic  extract  comes  already  mixed 
with  soda. 


42  Artificial  Digestion. 

toiiized.  When  partially  peptonized  it  has  no  bitter 
taste,  and  but  little  appearance  of  change.  When  the 
milk  is  peptonized  (sufficiently  for  the  patient),  either 
scald  or  bring  it  to  the  boiling-point  (to  prevent  further 
digestion),  or  place  it  on  ice  until  used.  It  can  be  taken 
like  ordinary  milk.     (Sec  Appendix,  p.  213.) 

Peptonized  milk  may  be  sweetened  to  taste,  or  used 
for  making  punch,  with  rum,  etc.,  or  it  can  be  made 
into  jelly;  indeed,  it  can  take  the  place  of  ordinary 
milk  in  any  of  the  various  dishes  in  which  milk  is  used. 

Peptonized  Milk  Geuel. 
Half  a  pint  (a  cupful)  of  well-boiled  gruel  (of  barley 
flour,  Graham  flour,  or  granulated  w^heat,  corn,  or  oat- 
meal) is  added  while  still  boiling  hot,  to  half  a  pint  of 
cold  milk.  The  mixture  will  have  a  temperature  of 
about  125° ;  add  to  this  five  grains  (quarter  of  a  tea- 
spoonful)  of  the  Extractum  Pancreatis,  and  fifteen 
grains  of  soda,  and  let  it  stand  until  peptonized,  the 
same  as  for  peptonized  milk,  both  as  to  making  and 
preserving. 

Peptonized  Milk  Jelly.  (Very  palatable.) 
Ingredients:  one  pint  of  peptonized  milk  heated  to 
boiling ;  one  quarter  of  a  pound  of  sugar ;  a  half-box 
of  Coxe's  or  Nelson's  gelatine;  the  juice  and  the  thin 
yellow  cuts  of  the  rind  of  one  lemon  ;  the  juice  of  one 
orange;  three  or  four  tablespoonfuls  of  Jamaica  rum. 

Add  the  sugar  and  the  thin  cuts  of  the  rind  of  the 
lemon  to  the  milk.  Soak  the  gelatine  for  half  an 
hour  or  more,  in  enough  cold  water  to  merely  cover  it, 
then  add  a  gill  of  boiling  w^ater,  and  when  quite  dis- 
solved add  the  juices  of  the  lemon  and  orange,  and 
also  the  rum.  Add  this  to  the  sweetened  milk  when 
it  has  partially  cooled,  and  pass  it  through  a  little  wire 


Pejptonized  Milk  Jelly.  43 

milk- strainer  or  sieve.  Four  it  into  cups  or  moulds 
(previously  wet  with  cold  water),  and  set  in  a  cold 
place. 

This  jelly  can  be  made  of  any  flavor,  with  or  without 
wine  or  spirits.  It  is  very  good  when  flavored  with 
lemon  or  orange  alone,  or  with  lemon  or  almond  ex- 
tract. 

When  the  milk  is  thoroughly  peptonized  (brought  to 
a  point  when  a  slight  bitter  taste  is  detected),  lemon 
juice  or  acids  will  not  curdle  it,  as  with  the  ordinary 
milk. 

The  milk  gruels  can  be  used  as  well  as  the  milk  it- 
self in  making  jelly. 


GBAPE  JUICE. 

The  value  of  simple  grape  juice  as  a  beverage  has 
become  but  recently  known,  principal  attention  here- 
tofore having  been  directed  to  its  fermentation  into 
wine.  For  the  invalid  the  simple  grape  juice  is  far 
preferable,  the  natural  tonic  of  the  grape  being  ob- 
tained without  the  inflammatory  effects  of  alcohol.  In 
flavor  the  natural  bouquet  of  the  grape  is  preserved. 
No  beverage,  aside  from  water,  is  more  generally  whole- 
some and  palatable.  In  some  of  the  hygienic  insti- 
tutes it  is  prepared  in  large  quantities  and  drank  in 
place  of  tea  or  coffee  at  meals. 

It  was  introduced  into  St.  Louis  by  Dr.  Dodds  in 
1872.  I  am  indebted  to  her  for  the  mode  of  its  prep- 
aration. Its  manufacture  provides  a  new  industry  for 
the  farmers  and  canning  companies,  as  the  use  of  simple 
grape  juice  is  destined  to  become  general. 

Its  preparation  is  as  follows :  Take  grapes  thorough- 
ly ripe  and  fresh  from  the  vine.  The  Concord  and 
Isabella  are  especially  good,  but  any  fresh,  ripe,  and 
juicy  grape  may  be  used.  Allow  one  quart  of  water 
to  three  quarts  of  grapes  freed  from  the  stems.  Use 
no  sugar.  Let  it  come  slowly  to  a  boil,  and  when  the 
whole  mass  is  boiling  hot  strain  the  juice  through  a 
cheese-cloth,  flour  sack,  or  other  strong  cloth.  Then 
return  the  liquor  to  the  fire,  and  as  soon  as  it  is  at  the 
boiling-point  again,  can  it. 

The  less  the  fruit  or  juice  is  cooked  the  brighter  will 


Canning  of  Grape  Juice.  45 

be  its  color  and  the  better  the  natural  flavor  of  the 
grape  will  be  retained.  This,  like  all  other  articles  to 
be  canned,  mnst  be  at  the  boiling-point  when  it  is 
sealed.  If  the  juice  is  to  be  used  at  once  it  should  not 
be  brought  to  the  boiling-point  a  second  time.  Use 
wooden  spoons  in  its  preparation,  and  only  glass  jars 
for  keeping  it.  The  action  of  any  acid  substance  on 
tin  is  to  corrode  it  and  poison  the  fruit. 

Before  heating  the  grapes  see  that  all  the  necessary 
preparations  are  complete,  viz.,  that  the  jars  and  covers 
are  clean,  the  covers  fitted,  and  the  hot  water  ready  for 
holding  the  jars,  etc. 

To  avoid  breaking  the  jars,  manage  them  as  follows : 
When  the  grape  juice  is  nearly  ready  for  canning,  fill 
a  large  wooden  tub  about  three  quarters  full  with 
water  quite  hot,  but  below  the  boiling-point.  Holding 
the  jar  sidewise,  roll  it  over  quickly  in  the  water,  and 
then  set  it  right  side  up  with  the  water  in  and  around 
it.  Continue  in  the  same  manner  with  other  jars. 
Place  the  covers  also  in  hot  water.  The  juice  being 
ready  to  be  canned,  roll  one  of  the  jars  again  quickly 
in  the  hot  water,  empty  it,  place  it  on  a  tin  platter, 
and  pour  it  full  of  the  boiling  juice,  rather  slowly  at 
first.  Wipe  the  moisture  from  the  top  of  the  can, 
adjust  the  rubber  ring,  and  screw  on  the  top  (taken 
from  the  hot  water  and  wiped  dry)  until  it  clasps 
the  rubber  tightly  all  around.  Do  it  all  as  quickly 
as  possible.  Set  this  jar  aside  and  proceed  in  the 
same  way  with  the  others.  After  the  jars  are  cool 
enough  to  handle,  screw  down  the  tops  again,  and 
when  entirely  cold  give  them  another  twist  in  order 
that  the  sealing  may  be  perfect.  The  best  plan  is  to 
let  them  stand  twenty-four  hours  and  tighten  them 
from  time  to  time.  Last  of  all,  wipe  them  clean  with 
a  damp   cloth,  and   set   them    away   in   a  da7%  cool 


46  Grape  Juice. 

closet  or  cellar.  If  no  dark  cellar  be  at  liaiid,  wrap 
the  bottles  in  heavy  brown  paper  to  exclude  the 
light.  The  cooler  tliey  are  kept  without  freezing  the 
better. 


THE  HOT -WATER   CUBE, 

The  drinking  of  simple  hot  water  as  a  cure  for  rheu- 
matism, gout,  dyspepsia,  catarrh,  etc.,  is  new  and  very 
efficacious.  In  these  diseases  there  is  a  sporous  con- 
dition, or  an  animal  or  vegetable  growth  on  the  coat- 
ings of  the  stomach  or  respiratory  tubes.  The  tenden- 
cy of  Jiot  water  is  to  produce  an  irritation  and  excite 
an  action  of  the  mucous  membranes  of  the  tubes  and 
stomach,  which  throws  off  or  detaches  diseased  matter. 
The  tendency  of  water  is  to  wash  off  these  impurities 
and  to  carry  off  through  the  kidneys  any  effete  mat- 
ter. 

The  water  should  be  taken  as  hot  as  possible.  It  is 
often  taken  in  a  wooden  goblet.  It  should  be  taken 
on  an  empty  stomach,  either  half  an  hour  before  a  meal 
or  two  hours  after.  Two  or  three  quarts  a  day  are 
taken  by  some,  although  ordinarily  a  glassful  (a  half- 
pint)  is  taken  half  an  hour  before  breakfast,  again  at 
11  o'clock,  and  again  at  4  p.m. 

Hot  water  taken  in  this  manner,  as  a  remedial  agent, 
is  a  comparatively  new  discovery.  It  was  found  that 
rheumatism,  gout,  etc.,  were  cured  at  the  Hot  Springs 
of  Arkansas  by  the  patients  drinking  quantities  of  the 
hot  water  at  the  springs.  Experiments  showed  that 
any  pure  hot  water  was  as  good  as  that  from  these  fa- 
mous springs,  the  diuretic  effect  being  what  was  re- 
quired. 

A  physician   in  New   York  told  me  that  the  hot- 


48  The  Hot-water  Cure. 

water  mania  had  been  carried  too  far.  He  never  pre- 
scribed over  three  pints  a  day.  Taking  it  by  the  gal- 
lon might  answer  in  some  cases  for  a  short  time,  but 
could  not  be  lone^  contiimed. 


DIET  IN  DIFFERENT  DISEASES. 


DIET  FOR  INFANTS.  , 

Eesoet  to  artificial  food,  though  sometimes  necessary, 
is  always  unfortunate  for  the  baby.  Trouble  then  be- 
gins. The  baby  fortunate  enough  to  have  a  healthy 
mother  and  a  natural  diet  acquires  a  strength  and  vigor 
which  are  of  incalculable  value  in  after-life. 

For  the  first  three  days  of  the  baby's  life  a  little 
sweetened  water  in  a  spoon  is  all-sufiicient.  It  is  de- 
sirable to  adopt,  as  far  as  practicable,  regular  periods 
for  nursing.  Once  in  every  three  hours  during  the 
daytime  and  about  twice  at  night  for  the  first  month 
will  generally  bo  sufficient.  After  the  first  month 
three  times  during  the  day  and  once  in  the  night  will 
ordinarily  suffice.  This  may  be  continued  until  the 
child  is  six  months  old. 

According  to  many  and  the  best  authorities,  no  fari- 
naceous food  or  thickening  of  any  kind  whatever  should 
be  given  to  a  child  under  six  months  old.  (See  Appen- 
dix, page  216.)  The  child  is  until  then  "wholly  un- 
provided with  the  physiological  machinery  requisite  for 
the  digestion  of  starchy  foods."  After  six  months  the 
capacity  for  digesting  starchy  foods  commences,  and 
then  a  little  gruel  of  sifted  Graham  flour,  or  barley, 
or  cornmeal  may  be  given.  If  the  mother  can  nurse 
the  child  even  partially,  it  is  better  to  do  so.  If  she 
cannot  nurse  the  child  at  all,  of  course  it  is  far  better 
to  procure  a  wet  nurse  than  resort  to  cow's  milk.  Great 
3 


50  Diet  ill  Different  Diseases. 

care  should  be  taken  that  the  wet  nurse  be  quite  healthy 
and  especially  free  from  scrofulous  or  consumptive  taint. 
If  possible  she  should  be  of  the  same  or  nearly  the  same 
age  as  the  mother,  and  her  child  and  that  of  the  mother 
sliould  be  of  the  same  age.  At  nine  months,  or  when 
the  child  has  two  or  more  teeth,  it  should  be  weaned. 
Not,  however,  during  summer-time  nor  unless  the  child 
be  quite  well. 

If  the  baby  must  be  fed  from  the  bottle  the  difficul- 
ties are  many.  The  milk  should  be  quite  fresh  from  a 
healthy  and  properly  fed  cow.  Then  if  the  bottles  are 
left  to  nurses  to  be  cleaned  there  is  constant  danger 
that  the  work  will  be  negligently  or  insufficiently  done. 
It  is  absolutely  essential  that  they  be  scalded  and  freed 
of  all  acid  contents.  The  milk  should  also  be  given 
lukewarm,  or  near  the  temperature  of  mother's  milk. 
Dr.  Gatchel,  in  his  admirable  little  book  on  "What 
Shall  I  Eat,"  says,  "  Half  the  sickness  from  which  in- 
fants suffer  is  produced  by  improper  food  and  improper 
feeding."  Sir  C.  Clark,  an  eminent  London  physician, 
once  said,  "  The  ignorance  of  mothers  in  feeding  chil- 
dren is  worth  a  thousand  pounds  a  year  to  me." 

Cow's  milk  differs  from  human  milk  in  that  it  con- 
tains more  caseinc,  more  butter,  and  more  saline  matter, 
but  less  water  and  less  sugar.  This  difference  must  be 
rectified  by  adding  to  cow's  milk  the  necessary  water 
and  sngar.  For  the  first  month  give  equal  parts  of 
milk  and  water;  say  of  cow's  milk  one  half-pint,  of 
pure  water  (distilled  or  boiled)  one  half-pint,  with  pow- 
dered sugar  of  milk  a  teaspoonful  or  one  lump  of  loaf 
sugar.  If  the  child's  stomach  should  be  a  little  acid,  a 
teaspoonful  of  lime-water  can  be  added  to  this  quantity. 

After  the  infant  is  a  month  old  use  tw^o  parts  of  milk 
to  one  of  water  with  sugar  as  above  stated.  The  milk 
should  be  obtained  fresh  twice  a  day.    Two  pans  should 


Diet  for  Infants.  61 

be  kept  exclusively  for  the  baby's  use,  and,  before  the 
milk  is  added,  the  pans,  used  alternately,  should  have 
been  thoroughly  cleansed,  scalded,  and  dried.  In  sum- 
mer, the  milk,  if  in  danger  of  becoming  sour,  can  be 
scalded  when  first  put  into  the  pan,  but  it  must  not  be 
boiled.  Glass  jars  are  still  better  than  tin  pans  for 
keeping  milk.*  Always  use  a  fresh,  clean  bottle  every 
time  milk  is  given  to  the  baby.  Several  bottles  should 
be  provided,  also  the  black  thimble  rubber  nipples ;  the 
white  are  said  to  contain  injurious  ingredients.  Never 
use  the  long  rubber  tube  for  the  nursing-bottle,  as  it  is 
almost  impossible  to  keep  it  clean  and  free  from  acid. 

Dr.  Gatchel  says :  "  As  soon  as  the  child  has  taken 
enough  for  one  feeding,  empty  from  the  bottle  what 
remains,  and,  without  delay,  scald  and  wash  the  bottle 
with  hot  water  and  soap.  After  scalding,  put  the  bot- 
tle into  a  basin  of  clean,  cold  water  in  which  a  little 
soda  has  been  dissolved.  Let  it  remain  in  the  soda  bath 
for  half  an  hour,  then  rinse  it  in  clean  water  and  let  it 
dry  by  hanging  inverted  on  a  peg."  A  Avire  basket 
w^ould  be  better  and  more  convenient  than  the  peg. 

AVhile  the  baby  is  under  a  month  old,  the  usual  quan- 
tity for  a  meal  should  be  the  ordinary  feeding-bottle 
half  full.     Afterwards  the  bottle  nearly  full. 

In  its  chemical  properties,  goats'  milk  approaches 
nearer  than  any  other  kind  to  human  milk.  Yery  little 
water  should  be  added  to  it — about  four  per  cent,  to 
make  it  suitable  for  infants. 

Probably  the  most  perfect  artificial  substitute  for  hu- 
man milk  is  Liebig's  food  for  infants,  prepared  accord- 
ing to  strict  cliemical  principles.  It  is  composed  of  malt 
flour,  wheat  flour,  cow's  milk,  bicarbonate  of  potash, 
and  water  in  such  proportions  as  to  imitate  woman's 
milk  as  nearly  as  possible. 

*  III  regard  to  glass  jars  for  keeping  milk,  see  pnge  12. 


52  Diet  in  Different  Diseases. 

Liebig's  Keceipt. 

Take  half  an  ounce  of  wheat  flour,  half  an  ounce  of 
malt  flour,  and  seven  and  a  quarter  grains  of  crystallized 
bicarbonate  of  potash,  and,  after  mixing  them  well,  add 
one  ounce  of  water,  then  five  ounces  of  cow's  milk. 
Warm  the  mixture,  continually  stirring,  over  a  very 
slow  fire,  till  it  becomes  thick.  Then  remove  the  ves- 
sel from  the  fire,  stir  again  for  five  minutes,  put  it  back 
on  the  fire,  finally  let  it  boil  well. 

It  is  necessary  that  the  food  should  form  a  thin  and 
sweet  liquid  previous  to  its  final  boiling.  Before  us- 
ing, it  should  be  strained  through  a  fine  hair  sieve. 

Pavy  says,  in  regard  to  this  receipt :  "  To  avoid  the 
trouble  of  weighing,  as  much  wheat  flour  as  will  lie  on 
a  tablespoon  is  an  ounce,  and  a  moderate  tablespoonful 
of  malt  flour  corresponds  with  half  an  ounce." 

It  is  malt  made  from  barley  that  should  be  used,  and 
a  common  coffee-mill  answers  the  purpose  of  grinding 
it  into  flour,  which  is  to  be  cleaned  from  the  husk  by 
a  coarse  sieve.  The  bicarbonate  of  potash  is  added  to 
neutralize  the  acid  reaction  of  the  two  kinds  of  flour, 
and  also  to  raise  the  amount  of  alkali  in  the  food  to  the 
equivalent  of  that  in  woman's  milk. 

The  ferment  in  the  malt  leads,  during  the  exposure 
to  the  warmth  employed  in  the  process  of  preparation, 
to  the  conversion  of  the  starch  of  both  the  flours  into 
dextrine  and  sugar,  the  latter  of  which  gives  the  sweet 
taste  that  is  required.  The  newly  found  products  also 
being  soluble,  will  account  for  the  mixture  being  thin, 
and  the  point  contended  for  by  Liebig  is,  that  the  same 
principles  in  this  state  tax  the  digestive  and  assimi- 
lative powers  of  the  infant  much  less  than  starch. 

Pap  ok  Thickened  Milk. 
Ingredients:  One  pint  of  milk,  two  even  tablespoon- 


Different  Foods  for  Infayits.  53 

fills  of  flour,  and  a  teaspoonf iil  of  sugar.  The  sugar  is 
often  omitted. 

Place  the  milk  in  a  double  boiler;  when  hot,  stir  in  the 
flour,  wet  with  two  tablespoonf  nls  of  cold  milk  ;  let  the 
water  in  the  outer  vessel  boil  hard  for  an  hour.  Or, 
the  pap  can  be  cooked  directly  over  the  Are,  when  ten 
minutes'  simmering  will  be  sufficient  to  cook  the  flour. 
Proper  care  should  be  taken,  though,  to  prevent  scorch- 
ing. This  is  pap  proper ;  but  for  a  change,  when  it  is 
just  done  and  hot,  the  white  of  an  (ig^  beaten  to  a  stiff 
froth  can  be  stirred  in  smoothly,  without  further  cooking. 

It  is  very  desirable  to  use  the  new -process  flour  (in 
which  the  full  amount  of  gluten  is  retained)  or  cold- 
blast  flour  prepared  by  the  Health-food  Company. 

Crackers  for  Baby  (over  six  months  old). 

Crackers  may  be  fed  to  babies  over  six  months  old. 
Either  the  Boston  or  soda  crackers,  the  health  -  food 
lactic  wafers,  or  cold-blast  biscuits,  or  crackers  made  at 
home  (see  p.  122),  of  new-process  flour,  can  be  used. 

Pour  over  the  cracker  on  a  plate  enough  boiling 
water  to  cover  it.  Cover  this  with  a  saucer  and  let  it 
remain  in  the  oven  for  twenty  minutes,  or  until  it  is 
quite  soft  and  swollen.  Then  pour  over  some  hot 
milk  or  thin  cream. 

Bread  Jelly,  or  Panada 
is  most  excellent  for  babies  ten  or  twelve  month  old. 
(See  p.  215.) 

Gruel  for  Babies. 

Any  of  the  gruels  are  good  for  the  baby.  The 
barley  gruel  is  most  excellent.  If  troubled  with  consti- 
pation a  cornmeal  gruel  is  generally  better  than  medi- 
cine. If  with  summer  complaint,  the  flour  gruel  or 
pap  is  advisable. 


54  Diet  in  Different  Diseases. 

Oatmeal  Gkuel. — (Dr.  Kice  of  Colorado.) 
Oatmeal  is  a  very  hearty  food,  too  much  so  to  be  com- 
mended as  a  common  diet  for  infants.     For  a  change, 
though,  it  often  suits  most  admirably. 

Add  one  teacupful  of  oatmeal  to  two  quarts  of  boil- 
ing water  very  slightlj^  salted ;  let  tliis  cook  for  two 
hours  and  a  half,  then  strain  it  through  a  sieve.  When 
cold,  add  to  one  gill  of  the  gruel  one  gill  of  thin  cream 
and  one  teaspoonful  of  sugar.  To  this  quantity  add 
one  pint  of  boiling  water,  and  it  is  ready  for  use. 

Beef. — (Dr.  Eice.) 
Scrape  one  half  pound  of  beef,  and  remove  all  the 
shreds ;  add  one  half  pint  of  water,  and  three  drops  of 
muriatic  acid.     Let  it  stand  one  hour ;  then  strain  it 
through  a  sieve,  and  add  a  very  small  portion  of  salt. 

Mellin's  Food  for  Infants. 
Mellin's  food  for  infants,  which  is  said  to  be  merely 
the  Liebig  receipt  carried  out  perfectly,  is  probably  as 
good  food  for  infants  as  can  be  purchased.  It  is  an 
English  preparation,  but  can  be  found  for  sale  every- 
where, as  the  food  is  w^ell  known  and  much  used. 


DYSPEPSIA. 

Many  conditions  are  requisite  to  insure  good  diges- 
tion, viz.:  Wholesome  food;  food  taken  at  proper  in- 
tervals, so  that  it  may  be  digested,  and  the  stomach  al- 
lowed some  repose  before  another  repast  is  taken  ; 
sufficient  sleep ;  a  mind  free  from  nervous  irritation, 
yet  freely  employed  with  projects,  either  useful  or  orna- 
mental; a  rejection  of  stimulating  beverages,  condi; 
ments,  and  spices;  and,  important  as  the  selection  of 
food  itself,  physical  exercise.  The  working  classes  have 
the  health  and  strength.  Men,  as  a  class,  with  their 
active  vocations,  are  healthier  than  women.  Fashion- 
able women,  as  a  general  thing,  do  not  take  enougli 
muscular  exercise  to  keep  themselves  in  good  condition. 
Walking  is  all  very  well,  but  it  is  only  about  a  third 
enough.  The  chest  muscles,  the  liver,  the  vital  organs 
generally,  do  not  get  enough  stirring  up,  by  bending, 
twisting,  lifting,  etc.,  to  keep  up  a  natural  circulation, 
much  less  to  create  a  healthy  demand  for  food.  The 
demand  for  food  under  normal  circumstances  is  in  pro- 
portion to  the  amount  of  organic  expenditure. 

It  is  this  need  of  a  free  circulation  of  blood  to  take 
up  food  and  carry  it  to  perform  its  necessary  functions, 
that  causes  half  of  the  suffering  from  dyspepsia.  Adi- 
rondack rowboats,  mountain  climbing,  garden-making, 
and  Dr.  Oswald's  woodshed  matinees  are  all  conducive 
to  health  and  strength.  Let  those  leading  sedentary 
lives  in  the  cities  make  Trianons  of  farmhouses  and 


56  Dyspepsia. 

mountain  camps,  and  plaj  for  a  few  weeks  the  roles  of 
English  dairymaids  and  French  peasants  or  American 
pioneers.  Plealth  and  civilization  would  be  advanced. 
One  is  the  complement  of  the  other — "  Les  extremes  se 
touchentP 

The  new  gymnastic  machines  (the  Gifford  patent)  are 
admirable,  if  it  did  not  seem  something  of  a  waste  of 
power  to  thrust  and  wave  the  arms  in  the  air  to  no 
practical  purpose.  It  is  possible,  however,  that  the 
same  systematic  action  and  the  same  exercise  of  partic- 
ular muscles  could  not  be  accomplished  so  well  in  any- 
other  way.  The  exercise  of  sweeping  and  cleaning  a 
room  is  admirable  for  bringing  many  muscles  into  play. 
Yet  out-door  work — horseback  riding,  garden  making, 
snow  shovelling,  water  pumping — is  better  and  pleas- 
anter.  What  a  blessing  it  would  be  if  all  the  hydrant 
water  of  the  dwelling  had  to  be  pumped  to  the  fourth 
story !  and  pumped  by  the  proprietors  of  the  castle. 

Some  do  good  service  by  exercising  mornings  and 
evenings  in  half  undress  with  light  dumb-bells.  A 
happy  idea  is  to  shovel  sand  from  one  box  to  another, 
and  continue  the  occupation  daily.  But  if  useful  exer- 
cise which  can  interest  the  mind  can  be  chosen,  it  is  far 
preferable.  If  one  wants  to  learn  how  to  exercise,  or 
rather  to  understand  the  importance  of  certain  move- 
ments— it  is  well  to  do  everything  scientifically — a  few 
lessons  at  an  establishment  where  gymnastics,  Swedish 
movements,  exercises  with  vibratory-motion  machines, 
and  massage  are  conducted  by  competent  physicians, 
would  be  of  benefit.  There  are  several  such  establish- 
ments in  the  large  cities,  and  they  are  rapidly  gaining 
in  favor. 

Another  principal  cause  of  dyspepsia  is  the  general 
taking  of  too  highly  seasoned  food.  Then  follow  the 
drug  poisons. 


Diet  for  Dyspeptics.  57 

Dr.  Oswald  says,  in  relation  to  drugs :  "  What  such 
tonics  do  is  this,  they  goad  the  system  into  a  transient 
and  abnormal  activity  incident  to  the  necessity  of  ex- 
pelling a  virulent  poison.  .  .  .  The  system  has  wasted 
the  organic  energy  which  it  seemed  to  revive." 

In  chronic  cases  the  best  practice  is  undoubtedly  to 
take  all  the  out-door  exercise  possible,  short  of  fatigue, 
to  choose  the  most  w^holesome  of  foods,  and  patiently 
await  results.  "  Temporary  blue  devils  are  far  prefer- 
able to  a  persistent  blue-pill  Beelzebub." 

3Iais  pardon  I  disciples  of  Esculapius.  The  author 
is  going  too  far  without  a  physician's  certificate,  and 
should  only  talk  about  diet. 

Different  foods  must  be  tested,  for  what  agrees  with 
one,  will  not  agree  with  all.  A  milk  diet  with  farina- 
ceous foods  —  oat-meal  porridge,  cracked  wheat,  corn 
bread,  etc. — act  like  a  charm  with  some,  while  a  few  per- 
sons cannot  digest  milk.  Koumiss  and  peptonized  milk 
can  generally  be  relied  on  when  simple  milk  is  unsatis- 
factory. Eaw-meat  sandwiches,  and  the  minced  beef- 
steak (page  143),  with  as  much  pepper  and  salt  accom- 
paniment as  can  be  dispensed  with,  is  often  beneficial ; 
though  meat  should  not  be  taken  at  the  same  time  witli 
milk.  Baked  potatoes,  mashed,  with  cream,  poached 
eggs,  uncooked  eggs  (page  141),  baked  apples,  and 
stewed  fruits  generally,  are  quite  wholesome.  A  most 
important  article  of  diet  for  dyspeptics  is  Graham 
bread  made  of  wheat  partly  or  wholly  denuded  of  its 
fibrous  coating. 

A  breakfast  consisting  of  an  oat -meal  porridge,  a 
cracked  -  wheat  mould,  or  a  generous  slice  of  Boston 
brown  bread,  with  cream  poured  over  it,  with  hot  water 
served  in  a  teacup  (see  page  4)  in  place  of  tea  or  cof- 
fee— this  and  nothing  more ;  a  dinner  composed  of  a 
slice  of  rare  roasted  or  broiled  beef,  mutton,  or  veni- 
3* 


68  Dysjpejpsia. 

son,  or  a  piece  of  well-cooked  chicken,  or  broiled  fish, 
for  a  change  (only  one  of  them  at  a  time,  however),  one 
or  two  vegetables,  and  a  rice  pudding,  a  blanc-mange, 
custard,  or  other  plain  pudding;  and  a  supper  or  lunch- 
eon of  bread  and  milk,  or  cornmeal  mush  and  milk,  a 
mock-cream  toast,  and  a  baked  apple,  or  some  stewed 
fruit — this  well  cooked  and  lightly  seasoned  will  gen- 
erally appease  an  intractable  stomach. 

Let  nothing  be  over-seasoned.  Too  much  salt  pro- 
duces more  or  less  inflammation  and  fever,  and  some 
liygienists  banish  it  altogether,  with  the  spices  and  con- 
diments. They  argue  that  food  contains  ah^eady  enough 
salt.  Mattieu  Williams  says:  "Salt  is  not  a  condiment, 
but  a  food,  simply  because  it  supplies  the  blood  with 
one  of  its  normal  and  necessary  constituents,  chloride 
of  sodium,  without  wiiich  we  cannot  live.  A  certain 
amount  of  it  exists  in  most  of  our  ordinary  food,  but 
not  always  sufficient." 

It  should  probably  be  used  much  more  sparingly 
than  is  customary. 

Dietetic  reforms  should  begin  with  a  strictly  non- 
stimulating  diet.  Let  grape  juice,  koumiss,  or  currant- 
jelly  water  be  the  strongest  beverage. 

Salt  or  smoked  meats,  sausages,  viands  recooked, 
pickles,  canned  tomatoes,  and  fried  dishes  generally 
should  be  eschewed.  And  yet  the  diet  must  not  be 
insipid.  If  well  cooked  and  artistically  served  the  ad- 
missible dishes  would  be  relished  by  any  one  with  a 
normal  and  healthy  digestion  —  one  not  impaired  or 
perverted  by  stimulants.  The  dietary  suitable  for  a 
healthy  child  is  generally  suitable  for  an  adult. 

In  extreme  cases  of  irritability  of  the  stomach,  if 
milk,  or  milk  and  lime-water,  koumiss  or  buttermilk, 
will  not  answer,  the  alternatives  are  barley  water,  the 
gruels  of  Graham  flour,  oat  or  corn  meal,  beef  tea  or 


A  Cure  f 07'  Dysjpejptics.  69 

oj^ster  or  clam  broth.  This  is  administered  at  regular 
intervals  until  the  stomach  evinces  a  more  efficient 
working  capacity. 

Any  dyspeptic  may  better  undereat  than  overeat.  A 
weak  stomach  must  not  be  ovei'tasked.  Some  physi- 
cians go  80  far  as  to  say  that  total  abstinence  for  a  day 
or  more,  to  give  the  organ  a  rest,  is  beneficial.  If  the 
dyspeptic  could  make  up  his  mind  to  stop  eating  while 
still  a  little  hungry,  greater  benefits  would  result  than 
from  the  taking  of  nostrums. 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind,  however,  that  while  absti- 
nence from  food  may  be  resorted  to  in  special  cases, 
dyspepsia  can  be  brought  on  by  fasting  or  by  insuffi- 
cient diet.  The  digestive  functions  can  become  weak 
from  mere  inertia.  The  tone  of  the  stomach,  like  the 
tone  of  the  muscles,  may  be  lost  by  want  of  exercise. 

Undoubtedly,  as  a  rule,  we  eat  too  much.  Persons  of 
sedentary  habits  often  eat  as  much  as  those  employed . 
in  physical  labor.  Indeed,  it  may  be  noticed  that  the 
less  one  has  to  do,  the  more  attention  one  gives  to  tax- 
ing the  stomach.  Not  that  one  should  scorn  a  good 
healthy  appetite — but  it  is  still  carried  to  excess,  espe- 
cially by  the  world  of  people  who  lead  sedentary  lives, 
also  by  many  wealthy  families  who  consider  that  good 
living  and  hospitality  require  too  great  a  variety  of 
dishes,  and  too  many  courses  at  meals. 

Dio  Lewis,  in  one  of  his  books,  tells  a  story  of  a  quack 
country  doctor  who  advertised  that  he  could  cure  any 
person  of  dyspepsia  in  a  few  weeks — price  $400.  The 
patient  was  sworn  to  secrecy  as  to  the  mode  of  cure,  be- 
fore being  admitted  to  his  sanatarium.  His  country  pa- 
tients expostulated,  sometimes,  in  regard  to  the  price. 
The  doctor  was  obdurate,  and  as  dyspeptics  generally 
are  hovering  on  the  brink  of  despair,  they  invariably, 
sooner  or  later,  came  to  terms.     They  were   also   in- 


60  Dyspepsia. 

variably  cured,  according  to  the  tradition.  Finally  the 
doctor  died  (not  of  dyspepsia,  however),  and  one  of  his 
patients,  considering  his  vow  no  longer  obligatory,  told 
the  great  secret. 

A  sanatary  diet  was  of  course  administered ;  but  the 
chief  means  of  cure  consisted  simply  in  the  patient 
kneading  and  beating  his  liver  and  stomach.  At  first 
it  was  sensitive  and  painful,  but  by  careful  rubbing 
and  patting  the  exercise  was  daily  increased,  until  the 
patient  could  pound  the  refractory  organs  vigorously 
for  an  hour  or  more  at  a  time. 

This  may  all  seem  extremely  ridiculous.  Not  so, 
however.  It  is  really  the  Swedish  movement-cure  to  a 
new  tune — a^a^  seul.  The  soreness  of  even  a  boil  can 
be  reduced  and  sometimes  removed  by  careful  manipu- 
lation. The  circulation  is  thus  equalized,  giving  new 
strength,  and  carrying  off  the  poison. 


DIARRHCEA,  DYSENTERY,  AND  CHOLERA. 

DiAREHCEA. 

DiAERHCEA  results  from  an  effort  of  nature  to  throw 
off  either  an  excessive  quantity  or  a  poor  quality  of 
food  which  cannot  be  digested.  The  digestive  powers 
in  such  cases  are  overtaxed  and  weakened,  and  the  best 
remedy  in  the  first  stage  of  an  acute  attack  is  total  ab- 
stinence from  food  for  at  least  a  day.  The  stomach 
needs  rest,  and  the  patient  will  not  suffer  from  this  fast- 
ing, but  will  often  recover  by  simply  retaining  a  recum- 
bent position  and  taking  nothing  but  a  little  cool  water, 
01*,  at  most,  rice-water,  in  small  quantities  at  a  time.  For 
the  first  two  or  three  days  a  little  rice  gruel  will  be 
sufficient  in  the  way  of  food.  If  milk  agrees  with  one 
perfectly,  it  can  be  taken  mixed  with  lime-water  (a  table- 
spoonful  of  lime-water  to  a  gobletf  ul  [half  a  pint]  of  milk), 
at  first  at  intervals  of  one  or  two  hours.  After  a  time, 
as  strength  is  developed,  the  quantity  may  be  increased 
to,  say,  a  small  glassful  every  three  or  four  hours.  Milk 
is  generally  an  excellent  diet  for  this  trouble,  and,  when 
taken,  nothing  else  is  required.  Koumiss  (new  or  fresh- 
ly made),  is  also  highly  recommended  for  diarrhoea. 
Thickened  milk  or  flour  gruel  is  often  given.  There 
are  some  who  cannot  take  milk,  and  then  the  alterna- 
tives are  barley-water,  thin  oatmeal  gruel  (strained), 
beef  tea,  oyster  broth,  and  sometimes  the  pulp  of  raw 
meat. 

The  patient  should  be  extremely  careful  during  con- 


62  Diarrhoea^  Dysentery,  and  Cholera. 

valescence  to  take  only  the  most  digestible  of  foods — 
for  instance,  toast  dipped  in  milk,  raw  Qgg  (page  141), 
rice  puddings,  tea  and  toast  sippets  (soaked  in  tea),  the 
preparations  from  the  health  foods,  etc. 

Dysentery. 

In  this  disease  there  are  inflammation  and  ulceration 
of  the  intestines.  Consequently  the  patient  should  be 
kept  in  as  tranquil  a  state  as  practicable.  The  food 
should  be  such  as  to  exert  the  least  stimulating  or  irri- 
tant action  on  the  mucous  membranes.  An  exclusive 
diet  of  milk  (given  as  described  in  the  preceding  arti- 
cle), is  of  as  great  value  in  dysentery  as  in  diarrhoea. 
Kice-water  and  rice  gruel  are  also  especially  recom- 
mended, as  well  as  barley  and  flour  gruel. 

Kaw  eggs  (page  141),  or  eggs  lightly  poached,  or  eggs 
beaten  with  milk  and  sweetened,  as  described  for  milk 
punch  (without  the  liquor),  are  useful  in  dysentery. 
The  pulp  of  raw  meat  is  sometimes  advantageously  used 
in  cases  of  diarrhoea  and  dysentery.  The  fat  is  all  re- 
moved and  the  fresh  beef  is  either  scraped  and  divested 
of  all  fibre,  or  it  can  be  cut  into  a  pulp  with  a  mincing- 
machine.  This  fine  pulp  may  be  lightly  seasoned  with 
salt  and  red  pepper  and  placed  between  two  thin  slices 
of  stale  bread,  forming  a  sandwich  ;  or  it  can  be  formed 
into  a  thick  cake  and  the  outside  merely  colored  by 
placing  it  in  a  hot  saucepan  ;  but  the  inside  must  not  be 
cooked. 

Dr.  Hall  gives  a  tablespoonful  of  scraped  raw  beef 
every  four  hours. 

Cold  drinks  tend  to  aggravate  the  pain  and  colic 
which  accompany  this  disease. 

Cholera. 
During  the  prevalence  of  cholera  great  care  must  be 


Cholera.  63 

taken  to  keep  digestion  in  good  order.  No  ice-water, 
alcoholic  stimulants,  stale  or  unripe  vegetables,  pickles, 
or  any  indigestible  food  should  be  taken. 

Dr.  Gatchell  says :  "  During  the  attack  no  food  what- 
ever is  required.  The  incessant  thirst  from  which  the 
patient  suffers  it  is  hard  to  gratify,  for  water  taken 
into  the  stomach  aggravates  the  vomiting;  and  yet  the 
patient  should  receive  all  the  water  that  he  craves,  if 
he  can  retain  it.  If  this  is  impossible,  much  benefit 
may  be  derived  from  holding  small  pieces  of  ice  in  the 
mouth  until  they  melt  away.  Injections  of  warm  milk 
may  be  used  with  advantage,  if  nothing  can  be  taken 
by  the  stomach. 

''  After  the  attack  no  solid  food  should  be  taken  until 
the  stools  are  consistent  and  faecal.  Great  care  must 
be  observed  during  convalescence.  An  attack  of  indi- 
gestion at  this  time  is  often  followed  by  a  fatal  relapse. 
At  first  only  farinaceous  food  should  be  given,  and  this 
in  small  quantities,  frequently  repeated. 

"  Rice  thoroughly  cooked,  thickened  milk,  and  the 
like  may  first  be  taken.  Milk,  however,  is  to  be  pre- 
ferred to  this,  and,  if  the  patient  can  take  it,  nothing 
else  need  be  sought  for." 


FEVERS„ 

De.  Beaumont  found,  bj  experimenting  with  a  young 
man  who  had  his  stomach  opened  by  a  musket  shot,  and 
afterwards  so  covered  that  the  action  of  the  gastric  juice 
could  be  witnessed,  that  but  little  gastric  juice  is  se- 
creted in  febrile  diseases. 

The  digestive  power  is  very  weak.  Fevers  seem  to 
be  due  to  a  poison  multiplying  itself  in  the  blood,  which 
runs  a  regular  course,  more  or  less  severe  according  to 
the  different  constitutions  attacked  and  according  to  the 
nursing  and  care  received.  The  body  becomes  emacia- 
ted. Both  the  tissue  and  adipose  matter  seem  to  burn 
up.  Cooling  drinks  and  food  only  in  liquid  form  should 
be  given,  and  the  latter  in  small  quantities,  but  at  reguhir 
intervals  of,  say,  two  or  three  hours.  Solid  food  given 
even  during  convalescence  will  often  cause  a  relapse. 

In  some  stages  of  fever  there  is  an  intense  longing  on 
the  part  of  the  patient  for  cool  air,  cold  water,  and  espe- 
cially for  acid  drinks,  and  but  little  desire  for  solid  food. 
All  the  pure  cold  water  that  is  desired  should  be  given. 
Barley  and  toast  water  can  be  given  also  as  drinks. 
Lemonade,  orangeade,  tamarind  and  currant-jelly  water, 
and  buttermilk  are  generally  craved,  and,  if  so,  they  are 
beneficial.  Milk  fresh  from  the  cow,  or  else  ice  cold, 
as  preferred,  is  recommended  by  all  the  authorities  for 
fever  patients  (except  in  cases  of  typhoid  fever).  Kou- 
miss is  especially  beneficial  for  fevers.  It  is  always  re- 
ceived gratefully,  and  is  the  very  best  diet  that  can  be 


Diet  for  Fever  Patients,  65 

given,  as  it  contains  a  mild  stimulant  in  addition  to  its 
digestible  food  properties.  Beef  tea  and  koumiss  or 
milk  can  be  given  in  alternation.  Barley,  oatmeal,  and 
Grabam-flour  gruels  are  mucb  used,  especially  during 
convalescence.  It  is  well  not  to  use  stimulants  unless 
the  patient  is  alarmingly  weak,  when  an  eggnog  can  be 
given  if  koumiss  is  not  a  sufficient  stimulus. 

Peptonized  milk  and  gruel  are  also  recommended 
w^hen  fresh  milk  and  gruel  do  not  agree  with  the  pa- 
tient. If  milk  disagrees,  or  is  thrown  up  curdled,  a 
tablespoonful  of  lime-water  to  a  cupful  of  milk  will 
generally  correct  the  difficulty. 

The  fruits  are  especially  beneficial  to  fever  patients. 
Dr.  Oswald  says :  "  Bananas  are  jpar  excellence  an  anti- 
fever  food,  being  refreshing,  palatable,  and  nutritive, 
as  well  as  exceedingly  digestible." 

When  the  patient  has  no  appetite  for  food,  very  little 
or  none  should  be  given.  Dr.  Oswald  says:  "When 
coolness,  sweetness,  and  fruity  fiavors  cannot  make  a 
dish  acceptable  to  the  appetite,  its  (obtrusion  would  do 
more  harm  than  good,  and  it  is  a  great  mistake  to  sup- 
pose that  even  total  abstinence  could,  in  such  cases,  ag- 
gravate the  danger  of  the  disease." 

In  the  critical  stage  of  fevers,  milk,  koumiss,  a  light 
gruel,  orange  juice,  and  the  cold  drinks  are  all  that  need 
be  given.  After  the  crisis  has  passed,  bananas,  pears, 
baked  apples,  raw  eggs  (page  141),  bread  jelly,  dipped 
toast  (made  of  nutritive  flour),  or  barley  gruel  could  be 
added.  All  animal  food  or  greasy  dishes  should  be 
avoided  until  full  recovery. 

If  the  patient's  mouth  is  furred  it  may  be  washed 
out  with  cold  water  containing  a  little  lemon  juice,  be- 
fore food  is  taken. 


66  Femrs. 

Typhoid  Fevee. 

This  being  a  long  and  exhausting  disease,  the  chief 
treatment  consists  in  good  nursing  and  careful  diet.  In 
this  disease  the  lining  membrane  of  the  intestines  be- 
comes ulcerated.  This  complicates  the  question  of  diet, 
as  nothing  should  be  given  which  will  leave  a  solid 
residue  in  the  bowels,  for  fear  of  irritating  the  ulcers 
and  causing  them  to  perforate  through  the  intestines. 
This  cuts  off  fresh  milk,  the  curd  of  w^hich  forms  more 
or  less  solid  masses.  Koumiss  which  is  partly  digested 
is  to  be  preferred  to  milk,  also  peptonized  milk  gruel 
(see  pp.  42,  213,  228).   Beef  tea  is  also  beneficially  given. 

The  experience  of  Sir  Wm.  Jenner  is  so  extended  in 
the  treatment  of  typhoid  fevers  that  I  add  his  remarks 
on  "Diet  in  Typhoid  Fever"  in  the  Appendix  (page 
223). 

There  is  rapid  waste  in  this  fever,  and  the  patient 
must  be  fed  regularly  with  very  nutritious  food.  Kou- 
miss, beef  tea,  the  gruels,  eggnog,  etc.,  are  the  chief  ar- 
ticles of  diet.  If  the  patient  becomes  unable  to  swal- 
low, nutrient  enemeta  must  be  resorted  to.  Eubbing 
the  body  with  oil  is  of  great  value. 


GOUT  AND  RHEUMATISM. 

An  excess  of  uric  acid  in  the  system,  and  the  conse- 
quent tendency  to  deposit  urate  of  soda  in  the  fibrous 
tissue  around  the  joints,  is  the  cause  of  gout.  This  con- 
dition is  superinduced  by  the  use  of  too  much  highly 
seasoned  animal  food  and  by  indulgence  in  stimulants, 
without  taking  sufficient  physical  exercise.  In  other 
words,  more  food  is  taken  than  can  be  properly  digested 
and  assimilated.  Laborers,  taking  a  less  proportion  of 
animal  food,  and  more  out-door  exercise,  are  rarely  ever 
troubled  with  gout.  Gouty  patients  and  the  children  of 
gouty  parents  should  promptly  adopt  habits  of  strict  ab- 
stemiousness. The  diet  should  be  chiefly  vegetable,  and 
physical  exercise  in  the  open  air  is  indispensable.  The 
regimen  recommended  for  dyspepsia  will  answer  very 
well  for  gout  and  rheumatism — rheumatism,  like  gout, 
being  often  consequent  upon  dietetic  abuses.  Meat 
should  be  strictly  avoided  in  all  cases  of  gout.  It  will 
only  aggravate  the  trouble,  and  the  same  may  be  said 
of  alcoholic  drinks,  malt  liquors,  and  especially  port 
wine. 

Probably  the  surest  cure  for  both  gout  and  rheuma- 
tism is  to  be  found  in  a  complete  change  of  the  ordi- 
nary dietary  in  favor  of  a  purely  milk  diet — or  a  diet 
composed  of  milk  and  the  grain  preparations,  viz. : 
oatmeal  porridge,  cracked  wheat,  Graham  bread,  etc. 
Skimmed  milk  is  generally  prescribed,  but  the  patient 
must  be  ill  indeed  if  not  able  to  digest  fresh,  new  milk. 


G8  Gout  and  Bheumatism. 

The  patient  need  not  fear  starvation.  He  will  iind 
himself  stronger  than  ever.  Milk  contains  all  the  ele- 
ments necessary  in  food,  and  it  contains  these  elements 
in  the  proper  proportions  to  promote  digestion  and  to 
produce  healthful  assimilation. 

Probably  one  would  not  be  obliged  to  continue  this 
strict  dietary  for  more  than  a  few  weeks,  before  a  more 
varied  menu  could  be  trusted. 


BRIGHT'S  DISEASE. 

Pavy  says :  "  Physiology  teaches  us  that  the  kidneys 
perforin  an  eliminative  office.  The  water  which  they 
remove  in  regulating  the  amount  of  fluid  in  the  system 
is  made  the  vehicle  for  carrying  off  solid  matter,  consist- 
ing of  useless  products  of  the  metamorphosis  of  the  food, 
and  effete  materials,  resulting  from  the  disintegration 
of  the  tissues,  which  poison  and  produce  death,  if  al- 
lowed to  accumulate  in  the  blood.  In  Bright's  disease 
their  eliminative  capacity  is  interfered  with. 

"  The  amount  of  urinary  matter  to  be  discharged  is 
largely  dependent  upon  the  nature  of  the  food.  The 
fats  and  carbohydrates^'  throw  no  work  upon  the  kid- 
neys. The  products  of  their  utilization — carbonic  acid 
and  water — pass  off  through  another  channel. 

"  The  nitrogenous  ingesta,  on  the  other  hand,  in  great 
part  undergo  metamorphosis,  and  yield  their  nitrogen 
to  be  carried  off  in  combination  with  a  portion  of  their 
other  elements,  under  the  form  of  urinary  products.  In 
this  way  the  kidneys  become  taxed  by  the  food.  So  a 
vegetable  diet  should  preponderate. 

"It  must  not  be  lost  sight  of,  that,  on  account  of  the 
escape  of  albumen,  an  extra  amount  of  nitrogenous  mat- 
ter should  be  supplied  to  make  up  for  the  loss  of  albu- 
men. In  Bright's  disease  the  kidney  is  contracted,  and 
frequently  the  escape  of  albumen  is  insignificant,  and 

*  Composed  of  starcli. 


70  Bright^ s  Disease. 

sometimes  even  it  is  none.  The  mere  loss  of  albumen 
is  not  so  mncli  to  be  dreaded  as  iirsemia." 

A  vegetable  diet  is  also  recommended  by  most  of  the 
authorities  (Chambers  being  an  exception),  on  the  sup- 
position that  meat  throws  extra  work  upon  the  kidneys. 
In  the  use  of  the  grain  foods  such  preparations  only 
should  be  selected  as  contain  the  full  nutriment  of  tlie 
grain  (see  pages,  26,  207). 

A  diet  wholly  or  partially  of  milk  is  much  recom- 
mended. Niemeyer  says :  "  In  a  series  of  cases  which 
have  been  described  by  Dr.  Schmidt,  in  his  inaugural 
thesis,  I  have  obtained  most  brilliant  results,  where  all 
other  treatment  has  failed,  by  putting  the  patients  on 
an  almost  exclusive  diet  of  milk." 

The  ordinary  mixed  diet  should  be  gradually  changed 
in  favor  of  the  milk  diet,  until  one  exclusively  of  milk 
is  finally  reached.  This  should  be  kept  up  for  a  month 
or  so,  when  improvement  is  almost  certain. 

The  patient  should  drink  freely  of  pure  soft  water, 
as  that  carries  off  much  of  the  impurities  of  the  blood. 
Flax-seed  tea  is  at  times  beneficial.  No  alcoholic  or 
malt  liquors  should  be  allowed  in  any  form.  They  act 
as  a  certain  poison  in  kidney  affections,  and  their  exces- 
sive use,  without  doubt,  is  the  provoking  cause  of  a  ma- 
jority of  such  diseases. 


DIABETES. 

The  formation  of  sugar  in  the  urine  is  what  is  char- 
acterized as  diabetes.  The  cure  of  this  disease  is  ahnost 
entirely  dietetic,  and  consists  merely  of  the  patient  and 
persistent  taking  of  foods  which  contain  no  sugar  nor 
starch,  wdiich  latter  is  converted  by  natural  processes 
into  sugar  in  the  system.  Fat  and  albuminoids  are 
given  in  their  pLace.  Dr.  Dobell  recommends  very 
highly  the  pancreatic  emulsion  of  fat  for  diabetics. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  dishes  which  are  allowed 
and  prohibited  a  sufferer  from  diabetes.  The  dishes 
are  allowed  which  are  not  marked  prohibited. 

Oysteks  and  Clams. 
Eaw  or  cooked  without  flour  mixtures.     Oysters  can 
be  rolled  in  egg  and  gluten  for  frying. 

Soups. 
All  kinds  without  flour,  rice,  or  other  starchy  sub- 
stances, and  without  the  prohibited  vegetables. 

Fisn. 
All  kinds,  including  lobsters,  crabs,  sardines  in  oil,  etc. 

Meats. 
Of  all  kinds.     Poultry,  game,  etc.     Livers,  on  theo- 
retical grounds,  are  prohibited. 

Vegetables  Allowed. 
Cauliflow^er,  spinach,  cabbage,  string  beans,  cucum- 
bers, lettuce,  greens,   mushrooms,  young    onions,  and 


72  JJiabetes. 

olives.  Celery,  asparagus,  and  tomatoes  are  qnestiona- 
ble.  Sour  apples  cut  in  quarters,  dipped  in  Ggg  and 
rolled  in  gluten,  and  fried  in  hot  fat,  niake  a  good  sub- 
stitute for  potatoes,  and  may  be  used  moderately. 

Vegetables  Peoiiibited. 
Potatoes,  beets,  turnips,  pease,  beans,  carrots,  parsnips, 
rice,  sago,  tapioca,  vermicelli,  or  others  containing  sugar 
or  starch. 

Milk,  Cheese,  and  Eggs. 
Milk,  in  some  cases  ;  eggs,  cream,  butter,  buttermilk, 
and  all  kinds  of  cheese  may  be  taken  freely.    Puddings 
and  custards  should  be  sweetened  with  glycerine. 

Fkuits. 
All  kinds   of  tart  fruits,  peaches   and   strawberries 
with  cream  and  no  sugar. 

Fruits  Prohibited. 
All  the  sweet  fruits,  as  apples,  pears,  plums,  grapes, 
bananas,  pineapples,  raspberries,  blackberries,  etc. 

Breads  and  Pastry. 
Only  those  made  from  wheat-gluten  flour.     The  or- 
dinary flour  or  grains  (oatmeal,  cornmeal,  honjiny,  etc.) 
must  not  be  used  in  any  form. 

Beverages. 

Koumiss,  coffee  with  cream  and  glycerine  (no  sugar). 
Cereal  coffee,  very  good.  Tea  objectionable.  No  liq- 
uors nor  wines,  except  claret,  Phine,  or  other  acid  varie- 
ties. It  is  still  better  to  reject  all  wines,  sweet  or  sour, 
and  all  liquors,  malt  or  distilled.  As  much  pure  water 
as  desired  may  be  taken. 

nttts  generally. 

Plenty  of  exercise  in  the  open  air,  tepid  baths,  rub- 
bing, and  abundant  sleep  are  desirable. 


CONSUMPTION. 

The  principal  object  in  treating  consumption  is  to 
bnild,  tlio  tendency  of  the  disease  being  to  waste.  There 
must  be,  if  possible,  a  renewed  and  healthy  organic 
growth  to  arrest  the  formation  of  tubercular  and  dis- 
eased matter;  consequently  all  the  nourishing  food 
which  can  be  digested  and  assimilated  should  be  taken. 
Plenty  of  fresh  milk,  if  possible  warm  from  the  cow, 
is  desirable ;  also  buttermilk,  clabbered  milk,  and  kou- 
miss (see  articles  on  Koumiss). 

Fresh  meats,  such  as  beef,  mutton,  and  venison,  roast- 
ed or  broiled,  and  cooked  rare,  should  be  freely  indulged 
in  (meats  and  fresh  milk  must  not  be  taken  at  the  same 
meals,  however).  Fowls  and  fresh  fish  may  be  safely 
and  profitably  taken.  Pork,  veal,  and  all  foods  difii- 
cult  and  slow  of  digestion  should  be  avoided.  All  salt- 
ed meats  should  be  eschewed.  Potatoes,  carrots,  and 
fresh  vegetables  generally,  are  wholesome,  and  even 
necessary,  when  much  meat  is  taken.  Raw  and  slight- 
ly cooked  eggs  are  full  of  nutrition  and  very  assimila- 
ble. Care  should  be  taken  to  discontinue  at  once  any 
article  of  food  that  disagrees  with  the  patient,  as  dis- 
ordered digestion  is  especially  unfortunate  in  consump- 
tion. 

As  much  fat  as  can  be  digested,  whether  it  be  in  the 
form  of  cream,  butter,  fat  of  meat,  or  oil,  should  be 
taken.  Cod-liver  oil  seems  to  be  one  of  the  great  re- 
sources for  supplying  fat  to  consumptives,  and  the 
4 


74  Consumption. 

amount  of  evidence  accumulated  in  its  favor  leaves  no 
doubt  as  to  its  utility.  The  oil  should  be  quite  fresh, 
without  color,  and  should  be  kept  well  corked  in  a  cool 
place.  If  it  does  not  agree  in  its  crude  form,  there  are 
preparations  of  it  in  emulsion,  combined  with  pancre- 
atic extract,  malt,  hjpophosphates,  etc.,  which  are  con- 
sidered beneficial  and  should  be  tried. 

Dr.  Gatchell  says  a  dose  of  a  teaspoonful  of  cod-liver 
oil  is  sufficient  to  begin  with,  and  this  quantity  can  be 
increased  until  a  tablespoonful  three  times  a  day  may 
be  safely  and  profitably  taken.  It  must  not  be  taken 
on  an  empty  stomach,  but  half  an  hour  after  a  meal. 

The  pancreatic  emulsion  (see  pages  40  and  213),  a 
preparation  of  half-digested  beef  suet,  is  well  worth  a  trial. 

Alcoholic  stimulants  are  considered  very  injurious  to 
consumptives  by  most  authorities,  and  they  should  not 
be  used  at  all  except  in  hopeless  cases,  where  they  may 
serve  to  give  temporary  strength  in  periods  of  extreme 
weakness  or  to  alleviate  acute  pain  and  suffering.  The 
effect  of  alcohol  in  any  but  the  smallest  quantities  (as 
found  in  koumiss,  etc.),  is  to  derange  and  weaken  the 
digestive  powers,  the  main  reliance  foiVcure. 

Among  others.  Dr.  Chambers  says :  "  As  to  the  use 
of  alcohol  in  threatened  cases,  and  in  the  early  stage  of 
tubercle,  I  have  no  hesitation  in  pronouncing  an  opin- 
ion against  it." 

As  nothing  aids  digestion,  and  consequently  assimi- 
lation and  health,  so  much  as  fresh  air  and  sunshine, 
combined  with  all  the  physical  exercise  that  can  be 
borne  without  fatigue^  a  life  in  the  mountains,  where 
the  air  is  dry  and  bracing,  is  to  be  chosen  if  possible. 
Having  spent  three  summers  in  the  mountains  of  Colo- 
rado, and  having  seen  and  conversed  with  many  con- 
sumptives, I  am  led  to  believe  that  the  cures  are  in 
almost  all  cases  among  those  who  adopt  an  out -door 


Diet  in  Consiimjption^  etc.  75 

tent  life,  and  impose  upon  themselves  a  certain  amount 
of  physical  work.  I  say  worli,  purposely,  to  designate 
something  more  than  mere  exercise.  Actual  work  giv- 
ing good  exercise  to  the  arms  and  chest  is  especially 
desirable,  always  remembering  to  stop  short  of  fatigue. 

The  most  remarkable  cure  of  which  I  knew  was  that 
of  a  man  far  gone  with  consumption  (as  they  avowed), 
and  hardly  able  to  walk  when  he  started  from  Missouri, 
who  made  the  trip  across  the  plains  in  an  ambulance, 
and  soon  cooked  his  own  and  companions'  meals.  The 
trouble  with  most  invalids  is  that  they  haven't  "vim" 
enough  to  be  willing  to  work  for  health.  In  the 
Adirondacks  of  northern  New  York,  among  the  hem- 
locks "  on  the  Eaquette,"  a  long  distance  from  any 
first-class  hotels  (which  are  all  very  well  in  their  place), 
we  have  met  many  consumptives,  and  in  all  cases  they 
were  benefited  by  the  wild-woods  life.  Some  persons 
spend  the  winter  there  and  take  their  "constitutional" 
by  chopping  wood,  etc.,  and  report  that  the  winters  are 
even  more  beneficial  than  the  summers. 

Dr.  Chambers  says:  "  The  use  of  climate  in  the  treat- 
ment of  phthisis  (consumption)  may  be  tested  by  its 
dietetic  action  ;  if  it  improves  the  appetite  it  is  doing 
good  ;  if  it  injures  the  appetite  it  is  doing  harm." 

SCEOFULA. 

The  diet  in  scrofula  should  be  the  same  as  in  con- 
sumption ;  a  full  diet  containing  plenty  of  fat,  in  the 
way  of  cream,  fresh  milk,  butter,  fresh  animal  food,  cod- 
liver  oil,  etc.,  and  also  a  full  complement  of  fresh  air, 
sunshine,  and  exercise.  The  extract  of  malt  is  general- 
ly recommended. 

KiCKETS. 

This  disease  is  the  result  of  imperfect  nutrition,  and 
should  be  treated  like  scrofula,  by  prescribing  a  ^qm- 


76  Conswrvption. 

erous  diet,  such  as  milk,  cream,  raw  beef,  and  cod-liver 
oil.  The  extract  of  malt,  which  contains  phosphates  of 
lime  and  other  salts,  is  especially  valuable  in  the  treat- 
ment of  this  disease. 

DiPIITHEKlA. 

The  patient  should  be  well  nourished.  Give  plenty 
of  fresh,  new  milk,  or  milk  mixed  with  beaten  egg 
(milk  punch  without  the  liquor). 

In  the  stage  of  depression  some  stimulant  is  required. 
Let  it  be  eggnog,  milk  puncli,  or  raw  egg  beaten  with 
a  spoonful  of  whiskey  or  brandy,  oatmeal  caudle,  or 
koumiss. 

If  the  patient  can  no  longer  swallow,  he  should  be 
nourished  by  nutrient  enemeta,  and  by  rubbing  the 
body,  especially  the  abdomen  (under  cover,  for  fear  of 
taking  cold),  several  times  a  day  with  olive-oil. 

Gasteitis. 

In  the  height  of  the  attack,  when  the  stomach  is  much 
inflamed,  no  food  whatever  should  be  taken.  Small 
pieces  of  ice  may  be  held  in  the  mouth  and  some  swal- 
lowed. Fresh  koumiss  is  most  excellent.  Ice-cream 
flavored  with  lemon  extract  (no  vanilla)  is  also  valuable. 
If  milk  agrees,  no  other  food  is  required.  The  gruels 
come  next,  but  no  meats  should  be  eaten.  The  meats 
are  digested  in  the  stomach,  and  the  starchy  foods  in 
the  large  intestine  beyond  the  stomach. 

If  nothing  can  be  retained  on  the  stomach,  nutrient 
enemeta  and  rubbing  the  body  with  oil  must  be  resort- 
ed to. 


CORPULENCY. 

Fat  in  the  body  is  created  out  of  the  fat  of  food,  and 
also  from  its  starch  and  saccharine  elements.  Conse- 
quently, in  the  treatment  of  corpulency,  it  is  necessary 
to  interdict  foods  that  contain  fat,  starch,  or  sugar. 
Sugar,  according  to  Banting,  is  the  most  active  of  fat- 
forming  foods. 

Mr.  Banting's  rules  were  as  follows  : 

"For  breakfast,  at  9  a. m.,  I  take  five  or  six  ounces  of 
beef,  mutton,  kidneys,  broiled  fish,  or  cold  meat  of  any 
kind  except  pork  and  veal ;  a  large  cup  of  tea  or  coffee 
without  milk  or  sugar ;  a  little  biscuit,  or  one  ounce  of 
dry  toast. 

''  For  dinner,  at  2  p.  m.,  five  or  six  ounces  of  any  kind 
of  fish  except  salmon,  herring,  or  eels  ;  any  meat  ex- 
cept pork  or  veal ;  any  vegetables  except  potato,  pars- 
nip, beet,  turnip,  or  carrot ;  one  ounce  of  dry  toast ; 
fruit  out  of  a  pudding  not  sweetened ;  any  kind  of 
poultry  or  game,  and  three  or  four  glasses  of  good 
claret,  sherry,  or  madeira  (champagne,  port,  and  beer 
forbidden). 

"  For  tea,  at  6  p.  m.,  two  or  three  ounces  of  cooked 
fruit,  a  rusk  or  two,  and  a  cup  of  tea  without  milk  or 
sugar. 

*'  For  supper,  at  9  p.  m.,  three  or  four  ounces  of  meat 
or  fish  with  a  glass  or  two  of  claret,  or  sheny  and 
water." 

The  propriety  of  the  last  meal,  or  of  the  taking  of 


78  Corpulency. 

sherry  or  madeira  (heat-producing  wines),  or  of  rusks, 
which  are  sweet  biscuits,  is  doubtful. 

The  following  comprise  the  fat-producing  foods,  viz. : 
Milk,  cream,  butter,  fats,  soups,  puddings,  pastrj^,  su- 
gar, candies,  cake,  and  all  sweet  dishes,  rice,  corn-starch, 
and  all  the  farinaceous  foods  (excepting  toasted  bread 
or  bread  crust),  potatoes,  corn — in  fact  all  edible  roots 
and  vegetables  growing  under  ground — sweet  fruits, 
and  spirituous  and  malt  liquors. 

The  following  are  non-fat-producing  foods,  viz. : 
All  the  meats,  poultry,  and  game,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  fat  portions  thereof,  oysters  and  shell-fish ; 
celery,  spinach,  and  all  the  greens,  cabbage,  onions,  let- 
tuce, squash,  tomatoes,  and  other  vegetables  containing 
little  or  no  starch,  and  all  acid  fruits. 

Dr.  Dobell  thinks  that  a  certain  amount  of  fat  should 
be  taken  with  the  food.  On  this  subject,  he  says : 
"  On  comparing  the  following  analysis  of  Mr.  Banting's 
diet  for  getting  thin  with  my  tables  of  normal  diets,  it 
will  be  seen  that  it  yields  less  than  half  the  normal 
quantity  of  carbon,  leaving  the  deficiency  to  be  ob- 
tained from  the  fat  already  stored  up  in  the  system,  by 
the  consumption  of  which  the  obesity  is  removed.  The 
fault  consists  in  this  reduction  of  carbon  being  obtained 
by  diminishing  the  hydrocarbons  (fats)  of  the  foods  in- 
stead of  only  cutting  off  the  carbohydrates  (sugar  and 
starch).  It  has  happened  to  me  to  have  much  to  do 
with  a  great  number  of  persons  who  have  tried  Bant- 
ingism,  and  I  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that  Mr.  Banting  has 
done  a  great  deal  more  harm  than  good.  Mr.  Banting 
candidly  told  his  readers  that  he  was  ignorant  of  the 
physiology  of  food. 


Diet  for  the  Corpulent.  79 

"  The  facts  in  the  case  are  tliese :  1.  A  certain  amount 
of  fat  in  the  system  is  one  of  the  most  essential  ele- 
ments of  health.  2.  The  quantity  required  by  differ- 
ent individuals  to  maintain  health  differs.  As  much  fat 
should  be  taken  as  the  stomach  likes.  3.  The  effects 
of  a  deficiency  of  the  quantity  actually  required  are 
most  disastrous,  the  tissues  of  the  body  and  the  brain 
and  nerves  being  at  length  disintegrated  to  supply  the 
elements  of  fat  which  they  contain.  4.  When  there  is 
a  quantity  of  fat  in  the  body  in  excess  of  that  necessary 
to  health,  it  may  be  lessened  with  great  and  (needed)  ad- 
vantage, provided  it  be  done  slowly  and  without  cutting 
off  too  much  of  the  fat  element  of  food." 

There  is  much  to  be  gained  by  observing  certain 
other  rules,  aside  from  the  dietary.  For  instance, 
every  morning  a  hasty  cold  water  sponge-bath  should 
be  taken,  and  the  body  should  be  well  rubbed  with  a 
crash  towel.  And  whenever  the  body  is  too  warm,  the 
cold  water  sponge -bath  may  be  repeated  without  a 
general  undress.  The  clothing  should  not  be  too  warm. 
AH  the  bodily  exercise  that  can  be  taken  without  fatigue 
should  be  persistently  kept  up.  The  vibratory-motion 
machine  is  most  excellent  for  reducing  fat.  This  ma- 
chine makes  two  thousand  vibrations  a  minute,  and  is 
made  to  accommodate  different  portions  of  the  body. 
To  those  who  are  unable  to  take  other  and  ordinary  ex- 
ercise this  machine  is  especially  recommended.  Its 
action  is  to  produce  a  rapid  circulation  of  the  blood, 
which  takes  up  and  carries  off  adipose  and  effete  matter. 

With  plenty  of  exercise  there  will  be  less  need  of  an 
exacting  dietary. 


SOMETHING  ABOUT  LONGEVITY. 

Before  the  age  of  eighty,  it  is  not  years  that  make 
us  old.  It  is  want  of  health,  either  inherited  or  brought 
on  by  our  own  imprudences.  Health  is  youth.  Many 
are  younger  at  sixty  than  others  at  twenty.  The  person 
in  health  is  always  young.  The  invalid  is  always  old. 
To  him  life  is  without  enjoyment,  without  energy,  and 
without  aspiration.  And  yet,  when  health  is  every- 
thing, life  itself,  how  little  it  is  guarded  !  how  little  ap- 
preciated, except  when  lost !  What  a  plaything  it  is ! 
And  so  our  youth  is  our  middle  age.  Our  middle  age 
is  our  old  age.  When  it  is  time  to  live  and  enjoy  the 
fruits  of  experience,  study,  and  labor,  we  are  practically 
dead.  Men  have  lost  tlieir  vigor  at  sixty,  and  women 
have  lost  their  beauty  at  forty. 

There  are  some  who  stop  to  think.  They  discuss  ill- 
ventilated  bedrooms,  temperance,  corsets,  graham  bread. 
Dieu  nous  defend!  What  disagreeable  subjects !  What 
cranks  and  crazy  theorists  they  are !  These  theorists 
attack  established  habits.  Fixed  habits  are  tyrants,  and 
their  power  is  irresistible,  and  so  the  study  of  health  is 
unpopular.     Sickness  alone  must  be  considered. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  natural  period  of  human 
life  is  greatly  shortened  by  long  and  perverse  violation 
of  natural  laws,  and  that  the  requirements  to  guard  the 
divine  gift  are  many. 

The  total  length  of  life  among  dumb  animals  is  about 
five  times  the  period  between  birth  and  full  maturity. 


Age  of'  Animals,  Climate,  etc.  81 

A  horse  is  mature  at  from  ^yq  to  six  years.  His  aver- 
age age  is  five  times  as  much,  and  so  the  rule  holds  true 
with  the  other  animals.  Man  is  mature  at  twenty -five. 
On  the  same  principle  he  should  live  to  be  one  hundred 
and  twenty -five.  This  is  a  charming  world,  and  the 
author  cannot  afford  to  make  the  mature  age  at  less 
than  twenty-five,  especially  when  man  is  not  considered 
sufiiciently  aged  to  hold  most  of  the  important  oflSces 
before  thirty. 

At  least,  a  lesson  can  be  learned  from  animal  life. 
Animal  food  is  simple.  It  is  without  spices.  The 
drink  of  animals  is  water.  Their  bedrooms  are  venti- 
lated. They  breathe  pure  air.  Bad  colds  and  dys- 
pepsia are  infrequent.  They  inherit  sound  constitu- 
tions. 

Climate  has  much  to  do  with  the  preservation  of 
youth,  or  rather  health.  In  the  extended  territory  of 
the  United  States  many  healthful  situations  are  to  be 
found;  not,  however,  where  the  weather  is  very  change- 
able, nor  where  the  average  temperature  is  very  high. 
In  some  portions  of  Scotland  men  often  retain  their 
full  vigor  at  eight3\  The  equable  climate  of  England 
is  especially  salubrious. 

Reference  to  a  few  examples  of  persons  living  to  a 
great  age  may  be  both  interesting  and  profitable. 

Cornaro,  a  distinguished  Italian  nobleman,  found  him- 
self at  forty  quite  broken  down  by  his  gross  excesses. 
Upon  the  advice  of  a  physician  he  resolved  to  lead  a 
new  life — to  maintain  a  temperance  which  should  be  as 
marked  as  his  former  indulgences.  At  eighty-three  he 
wrote  a  work,  "  Sure  and  Certain  Method  of  Attaining 
a  Long  and  Healthy  Life."  This  work  was  followed 
by  three  others,  written  at  the  ages  of  eighty-six,  ninety- 
one,  and  ninety-five.  His  works  were  translated  into 
Latin,  French,  German,  and  English.  The  English  trans- 
4* 


82  Something  about  Longevity. 

lation  reached  its  thirty-ninth  edition  in  1845.  Cornaro 
exclaims :  "  O  blessed  temperance,  how  worthy  art  thou 
of  onr  highest  esteem  !  and  how  infinitely  art  thou  pref- 
erable to  the  irregular  and  disorderly  life !  There  is 
as  wide  a  difference  between  you  as  there  is  between 
light  and  darkness,  heaven  and  hell."  Again,  he  says, 
in  older  age :  ''  O  sacred  and  most  beautiful  temper- 
ance !  how  greatly  am  I  indebted  to  thee  for  rescuing 
me  from  such  fatal  delusions,  and  for  bringing  me  to 
the  enjoyment  of  so  many  felicities,  and  which  over  and 
above  these  favors  conferred  on  your  old  man,  has  so 
strengthened  his  stomach  that  he  has  now  a  better  rel- 
ish for  his  dry  bread  than  he  had  formerly  for  the  most 
exquisite  dainties!  My  spirits  are  not  injured  by  what 
I  eat,  they  are  only  revived  and  supported  by  it."  To 
a  distinguished  archbishop  he  again  wrote:  "Is  it  not  a 
charming  thing  that  I  am  able  to  tell  you  that  my  health 
and  strength  are  in  so  excellent  a  state  ?  that  instead  of 
diminishing  with  my  age,  they  seem  to  increase  as  I 
grow  old?  all  of  my  acquaintances  are  surprised  at  it, 
and  I,  who  know  the  cause  of  this  singular  happiness, 
do  everywhere  declare  it.  ...  I  confess  it  was  not  with- 
out great  work  that  I  abandoned  my  luxurious  way  of 
life."  When  Cornaro  was  ninety-five,  he  wrote:  "I 
find  myself  as  healthy  and  brisk  as  if  I  were  but  twenty- 
five.  Most  of  your  old  men  have  scarce  arrived  at  sixty 
before  they  find  themselves  loaded  with  infirmities. 
They  are  melancholy,  unhealthful,  always  full  of  dread- 
ful apprehension  of  dying." 

There  are  many  famous  instances  of  longevity. 

Count  Jean  Frederick  de  Waldeck  died  in  Paris,  in 
1875,  at  the  age  of  one  hundred  and  nine.  He  had  been 
conspicuously  before  the  world  for  over  ninetj^  years. 
He  became  member  and  honorary  member  of  the  prin- 
cipal learned  societies  of  London  and  Paris. 


Persons  of  Great  Age.  83 

"The  Irish  Countess  of  Desmond  fell  from  a  fruit 
tree,  broke  her  thigh,  and  died  in  1609,  aged  one  hun- 
dred and  fortj-five  years.  She  danced  at  court  with  the 
Duke  of  Gloucester,  afterwards  Richard  the  Third.  She 
continued  gay  and  lively  in  her  tastes,  dancing  even  be- 
yond her  hundredth  birthday.  She  cut  three  new  sets 
of  teeth." 

The  Cardinal  de  Salis,  archbishop  of  Seville,  who  lived 
to  be  one  hundred  and  ten,  considered  his  health  and 
vigor  were  owing  to  his  care  in  diet. 

But  examples  of  longevity  are  generally  found  among 
the  poorer  classes.  Lord  Bacon,  in  his  "  History  of  Life 
and  Death,"  thus  quotes  from  Pliny:  "The  year  of 
our  Lord  76  is  memorable ;  for  in  that  year  there  was 
a  taxing  of  the  people  by  Vespasian ;  from  which  it 
appears  that  in  the  part  of  Italy  lying  between  the 
Appenines  and  the  river  Po  there  were  found  fifty-four 
persons  one  hundred  years  old ;  fifty-seven,  one  hundred 
and  ten  years ;  two,  one  hundred  and  twenty  years ; 
four,  one  hundred  and  thirty  years;  four,  one  hundred 
and  thirty-five  years;  and  three,  one  hundred  and  forty 
years  each." 

Mr.  Eugene  Thompson,  in  an  interesting  article  on 
"  Longevity,"  published  in  SGrihner''s  Magazine^  in  1875, 
writes:  "Kow  leave  sunny  Italy  and  go  to  inclement 
Norway.  Travellers  have  there  remarked  the  great 
temperance,  industry,  and  morality  of  the  people,  and 
their  common  food  is  found  to  be  milk,  cheese,  dried  or 
salt  fish,  no  meat,  and  oat  bread,  baked  in  cakes.  An 
enumeration  of  the  inhabitants  of  Aggershaus,  in  Nor- 
way, in  1763,  showed  that  one  hundred  and  fifty  couples 
had  been  married  over  eighty  years ;  consequently  the 
greater  number  were  aged  one  hundred  or  more ;  sev- 
enty couples  had  been  married  over  ninety  years,  which 
would  place  their  ages  at  about  one  hundred  and  ten ; 


84  Something  about  Longevity. 

twelve  couples  had  been  married  from  one  hundred  to 
one  hundred  and  five  years,  and  another  couple  one 
hundred  and  ten  years,  so  tliat  this  last  pair  were  doubt- 
less one  hundred  and  thirty  years  old." 

Thomas  Parr,  buried  in  Westminster  Abbey,  died  in 
1655,  at  the  age  of  one  hundred  and  fifty-two.  He 
lived  in  Shropshire,  England,  a  place  noted  for  its  long- 
lived  people.  He  was  a  farmer  of  extremely  abstemious 
habits,  his  diet  being  chiefly  milk  and  coarse  bread.  He 
married  his  second  w^ife  when  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
two,  and  worked  at  the  age  of  one  hundred  and  thirty. 
He  was  taken  to  court  in  his  one  hundred  and  fifty- 
second  year  as  a  curiosity,  by  the  Earl  of  Arundel,  and 
his  life  w^as  prematurely  cut  off  on  account  of  the  change 
from  a  parsimonious  to  a  plentiful  diet.  Two  of  his 
grandsons  lived  to  be  each  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
seven  years  old,  and  a  third  grandson  to  be  one  hun- 
dred and  nine ;  and  Eobert  Parr,  a  great  grandson,  died 
in  Shropshire,  in  1757,  aged  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
four. 

Mr.  Ephraim  Pratt,  of  Shutesbury,  Mass.,  who  died  at 
the  age  of  one  hundred  and  seventeen  years,  lived  chiefly 
on  milk,  and  his  son,  Michael  Pratt,  attained  the  age  of 
one  hundred  and  three  by  similar  means. 

A  study  of  the  subject  shows  us  that  great  longevity 
has  always  been  accompanied  by  abstemiousness  in  diet ; 
also,  that  great  eaters  never  live  long. 


UTENSILS. 

A  Doiible  Tin  Steamer  with  double  tin  cover  and 
copper  bottom  is  invaluable  among  cooking  utensils,  es- 
pecially for  making  several  dishes  suitable  for  the  sick. 
The  double  tight -fitting  cover,  perfectly  securing  the 
heat,  cannot  be  satisfactorily  supplied  with  any  impro- 
vised cover.  The  steamer  is  also  a  valuable  utensil  as 
a  hain  marie ;  i.  e.,  for  keeping  any  cooked  dish  hot. 


DOUBLE  TIN   STEAMER. 


For  this  purpose  the  steamer  containing  hot  (not  boil- 
ing) water  is  kept  at  the  back  of  the  range.  The 
double  cover  and  the  hot  -  water  lining  protect  soup, 
vegetables,  sauce,  oysters,  or  any  dish  placed  inside. 
The  flavor  of  a  dish  is  almost  perfectly  preserved  when 
kept  in  this  manner. 


86  Utensils. 

This  steamer  is  especiiiUj  useful  for  making  Boston 
brown -bread,  Graham  pudding,  farina  pudding,  cus- 
tards, etc. 

The  Earthen  Crock  (see  page  129)  is  recommended 
for  cooking  grains  (oat-meal,  etc.),  apple  sauce,  the  fruit 
compotes,  etc.  This  crock  must  be  heated  gradually, 
when  there  is  little  danger  of  breaking. 

A  Copper  Saucepan.  —  This  is  rather  an  expensive 
utensil,  but  when  once  used  it  will  be  considered  in- 
dispensable. This  is  on  account  of  being  able  to  cook 
with  it   materials   which   scorch   readily,  viz.,  articles 


with  milk,  cracked  wheat,  or  any  of  the  grains,  sauces, 
etc.,  which  are  improved  by  simmering,  with  almost 
no  danger  of  burning.  The  same  materials  could  be 
cooked  in  a  new  porcelain  kettle  or  earthen  crock ; 
but  iron  or  tin  saucepans — in  fact,  any  kind — do  not 
preserve  the  same  even,  regular  heat  as  those  made 
of  copper.  As  porcelain  kettles  are  not  durable,  th- 
copper  saucepans  at  last  are  cheaper.  They  will  lasi 
forever.      However,  special   care   should   be   taken,  if 


Meat -juice  Press ^  Porcelain  DucTc^  etc.  87 

the  copper  is  exposed  inside,  to  have  them  at  once 
retinned. 


Meat -juice  Press  —  for  ex- 
tracting the  juice  from  meat. 
The  meat  —  a  thick  steak  cut 
from  the  round  of  beef  prefer- 
able— is  broiled  merely  enough 
to  become  well  heated  through. 
It  is  then  cut  into  pieces  an 
inch  or  less  square,  and  put  into 
the  press,  .which  has  been  pre- 
viously heated  by  inserting  both 
cup  and  cover  into  hot  water. 
Juicy  meat  will  yield  nearly 
half  its  weight  in  liquid.     An 

equal  quantity  of  warm  water  is  often  added  to  the 
meat  juice,  and  all  should  be  very  lightly  seasoned.  It 
can  be  reheated  before  giving  it  to  the  patient,  although 
it  should  not  reach  the  boiling-point,  for  re<isons  ex- 
plained on  page  100. 

Porcelain  DucTc  for  administering  drinks  and  fluid 
foods  to  a  patient  in  a  recumbent  position.  Tlie  narrow 
neck  prevents  a  too  rapid  flow  of  fluid  into  the  mouth. 


The   duck   should  be   warmed    before   liot   foods  are 
poured  in. 


88  Utensils. 

Glass  Tubes  come  for  the  same  purpose,  which  are 
also  very  convenient. 

Porcelain  or  Glass  Spoons,  for  administering  medi- 
cines, can  be  purchased  of  any  druggist. 

Little  Glass  Droppers,  for  measuring  medicine  by 
drops,  are  also  useful. 


RECEIPTS 
FOR  THE  SICK  AND  CONVALESCENT 


DRINKS. 

Distilled  Water  (Dr.  Beard). 
"For  diseases  of  kidneys,  etc.,  this,  the  purest  of 
water,  may  be  obtained  by  fixing  a  curved  tin  tube 
three  or  four  feet  long  to  the  spout  of  a  tea-kettle,  and 
conducting  its  free  end  into  a  jar  which  should  be 
placed  in  a  basin  of  cold  water.  The  liquid,  as  it  drops, 
must  be  kept  cool  by  frequently  changing  the  water  in 
which  the  jar  is  placed.  The  steam  thus  condensed  is 
pure  water.  Distilled  water  is  mawkish  to  taste,  but 
this  is  easily  corrected  by  pouring  it  from  one  vessel  to 
another  successively  for  ten  or  fifteen  minutes,  so  as  to 
involve  in  it  a  quantity  of  atmospheric  air." 

Lime-water. 

Four  over  a  piece  of  fresh  unslacked  lime,  about  an 
inch  square,  two  quarts  of  hot  water.  When  it  has 
slacked  (in  a  few  minutes)  stir  it  thoroughly.  Let  it 
remain  over-night.  Bottle  carefully  all  the  liquid  that 
can  be  poured  off  in  a  perfectly  clear  state. 

As  water  will  only  hold  a  certain  amount  of  lime  in 
solution,  the  addition  of  more  lime  would  make  the 
water  of  no  greater  strength. 

Lime-water  (an  alkali)  is  generally  added  to  milk 
for  the  purpose  of  neutralizing  the  effects  of  an  acid 
stomach. 


90         Beceijpts  for  the  Sick  and  Convalescent. 

About  a  teaspooiiful  to  a  tablespoonful  of  lime- 
water  to  a  half-pint  of  milk  is  usually  prescribed. 

Bakley-water. 

Add  to  a  pint  of  boiling  water  half  a  tablespoonful 
(half  an  ounce)  of  Robinson's  patent  barley,  or  the 
"health -food"  barley,  rubbed  smooth,  with  two  table- 
spoonfuls  of  cold  water;  add  also  a  pinch  of  salt  and  a 
tablespoonful  of  sugar.  Let  it  boil  rive  minutes.  It  is 
to  be  drunk  cold.  The  simple  barley-water  has  a  not 
unpleasant  taste,  and  is  often  prepared  without  addi- 
tional flavor.  Yet  zest — i.  e.^  the  thin  yellow  cuts  of 
the  rind  of  a  lemon,  or  lump  sugar  rubbed  over  to  ex- 
tract the  oil — can  be  added  as  a  flavoring,  or  a  lemonade 
may  be  made  of  barley-water. 

Barley-water  may  be  used  temporarily  instead  of  milk 
when  the  latter  disagrees. 

Oatmeal  Deink. 
Rub  two  tablespoonfuls  (two  ounces)  of  oatmeal 
smooth  by  gradually  stirring  in  a  teacupful  of  cold 
water ;  add  a  pinch  of  salt.  Stir  this  into  a  quart  of 
boiling  water  and  let  it  boil  half  an  hour.  Strain  it 
through  a  fine  sieve. 

Tamarind- WATER. 
Stir  into  a  glassful  of  water  a  tablespoonful  of  pre- 
served tamarinds. 

Cinnamon- WATER. 

Add  five  or  six  sticks  (half  an  ounce)  of  cinnamon 
to  a  pint  of  boiling  water,  and  boil  fifteen  minutes.  To 
be  administered  by  the  tablespoonful. 

Given  for  hemorrhages. 


Toast-water^  Currant-jelly  Water ^  etc.  91 

Toast-water. 
Toast  thoroughly  thin  slices  of  Graham  bread,  and 
break  them  into  a  bowl.     Pour  over  enough  boiling 
water  to  cover  it.     When  cold,  strain  off  the  water  and 
sweeten  it  slightly.     Serve  it  always  freshly  made. 

CuERANT-jELLY  "Water  (for  fcvcr  paticiits). 

A  teaspoonful  of  currant-jelly  dissolved  in  a  goblet 
of  water,  and  sweetened  to  taste,  affords  a  refreshing 
drink  for  invalids. 

Flaxseed  Tea. 

Add  half  a  cupful  of  flaxseed  to  four  cupfuls,  or  a 
quart,  of  boiling  water.  Let  it  boil  half  an  hour.  Let 
it  stand  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes  near  the  fire,  after  it 
has  boiled.  Of  course  the  longer  it  stands  the  thicker 
it  becomes.  Strain,  sweeten  to  taste,  and  add  a  little 
lemon-juice,  or  not,  as  preferred. 

This  is  a  useful  demulcent  drink  for  coughs,  etc. 

Flaxseed  and  Licorice  Tea  (for  coughs,  etc.). 
Pour  one  pint  of  boiling  water  over  one  ounce  of 
flaxseed,  not  bruised,  and  two  drachms  of  licorice-root 
bruised,  and  place  the  covered  vessel  near  the  fire  for 
four  hours.     Strain  it  through  a  sieve. 

Herb  Teas 
are  made  by  pouring  boiling  water  over  one  or  two 
teaspoonf uls  of  the  herbs ;  then,  after  covering  well  the 
tin  cup  or  bowl,  allowing  it  to  steep  for  several  minutes 
by  the  side  of  the  fire.  The  tea  is  then  poured  off,  and 
sweetened  to  taste.  Camomile  tea  is  used  for  nervous- 
ness and  sleeplessness ;  calamus  tea,  for  infant's  colic ; 
cinnamon  tea,  for  hemorrhages ;  watermelon-seed  tea, 
for  strangury,  etc. 


92         Beeeipts  for  the  Side  and  Convalescent. 

Wine,  Lemon,  or  Yinegae  Whey. 

When  a  pint  of  milk  is  brought  just  to  a  boil,  pour 
in  a  gill  of  sherry  wine.  Let  it  again  come  to  a  boil. 
When  the  whey  separates,  strain  and  sweeten  it  to  taste, 
using  perhaps  a  teaspoonful  of  sugar. 

Or  the  whey  can  be  made  in  the  same  manner  w^ith 
lemon-juice  (free  from  seeds),  using  the  juice  of  half  a 
lemon  instead  of  the  wine,  and  sweetening  to  taste ;  or 
with  vinegar,  a  tablespoonful  being  quite  enough  for 
a  pint  of  milk. 

In  an  alimentary  point  of  view,  whey  is  ahuost  of  no 
value.  It  is  advantageous  as  a  drink  in  febrile  diseases, 
and  is  a  good  means  of  administering  wine  in  small 
quantities. 

It  may  be  drunk  either  cold  or  w^arm.  It  possesses 
sudorific  and  diuretic  properties. 

Sugar  Syrup  (for  sweetening  drinks). 

For  drinks  of  all  kinds,  even  tea  and  coffee,  sugar 
syrup  gives  a  better  flavor  than  crude  sugar. 

To  a  cupful  of  white  sugar  add  a  quarter  of  a  cupful 
of  water,  and  let  it  boil  one  or  two  minutes.  It  must 
not  be  boiled  long  enough  to  candy.  This  syrup  is  also 
purer  and  better  than  most  of  those  purchased,  to  eat 
with  pancakes,  etc. 

Simple  Beverages  from  Fruits. 

Currant- jelly  water  (or  any  acid  jelly  —  cranberry, 
plum,  etc.). 

If  the  jelly  is  soft  a  teaspoonful  is  dissolved  in  a 
goblet  of  fresh  cold  water,  and  sweetened  to  taste. 

If  the  jelly  is  hard,  it  will  have  to  be  added  to  boil- 
ing water  to  become  dissolved.     To  be  drunk  cold. 

The  fresh  fruits  are,  of  course,  to  be  preferred. 


Grape  Juice,  Ajpple-water,  Lemonade,  93 

There  is  nothing  more  refreshing  than  currant- 
water  made  from  fresh  currants.  This  can  be  prepared 
bj  allowing  a  pint  of  water  to  a  pint  of  currants  (freed 
from  the  stems)  and  a  tablespoonful  of  sugar.  Heat 
these  slowly  in  a  porcelain  or  granitized  iron  kettle  until 
it  boils,  then  let  it  simmer  for  five  minutes.  Strain  it 
through  a  cloth,  let  cool,  and  sweeten  again  to  taste.  It 
can  be  diluted  with  water. 

If  strawberries,  raspberries,  black  raspberries,  or 
blackberries  are  used,  prepare  them  in  the  same  man- 
ner, excepting  that  for  each  quart  of  berries  a  pint  of 
water  with  a  tablespoonful  of  sugar  should  be  used. 

For  Geape  Juice  (see  page  45). 
Allow  one  pint  of  water  to  three  pints  of  fruit 
(picked  from  the  stems).  Let  it  simmer  slowly  for  five 
minutes,  then  strain  it  through  flannel  or  cheese  cloth. 
It  is  drunk  cold  without  sweetening,  although  there  is 
no  law  against  adding  a  little  sugar,  if  preferred. 

Apple-watek. 

(The  same  for  any  of  the  fruits,  viz. :  pears,  peaches, 
plums,  French  prunes,  figs,  raisins,  rhubarb,  etc.) 

Boil  a  large,  juicy  apple  (pared,  cored,  and  cut  into 
pieces)  in  a  pint  of  water  in  a  close-covered  saucepan, 
until  the  apple  is  stewed  into  a  pulp.  Strain  the  liquor, 
pressing  all  the  juice  from  the  pulp.  Sweeten  to  taste. 
Sometimes  these  fruit -waters  are  made  with  rice  or 
barley  water.     To  be  drunk  cold. 

Lemonade. 

Rub  loaf  sugar  over  the  yellow  rind  of  the  lemon  to 

extract  the  oil ;  add  to  the  lemon  juice  (without  seeds), 

the  sugar  to  taste.     One  lemon  will  make  two  glassfuls 

of  lemonade,  the  remainder  of  the  ingredients  being 


94        Mecevpts  for  the  SicJc  and  Convalescent. 

water  and  a  little  ice  chopped  fine.  Lemonade  should 
not  be  too  strong  of  lemon.  Sugar  syrup  (page  92) 
is  always  best  for  sweetening  drinks. 

Professionals  serve  a  couple  of  strawberries  on  top, 
also  a  couple  of  straws. 

Flaxseed  Lemonade. 
(Demulcent  drink  for  throat  and  lung  troubles.) 
Pour  a  pint  of  boiling  water  on  two  tablespoonfuls 

of  whole  flaxseed,  cover  and  let  it  steep  for  three  hours. 

When  cold,  add  the  juice  of  a  lemon,  and  sweeten  with 

sugar  or  sugar  syrup. 

Milk  Punch. 
Sweeten  a  glass  three  quarters  full  of  fresh  new  milk 
to  taste,  and  add  one  or  two  tablespoonfuls  of  brandy  or 
whiskey.     Grate  a  little  nutmeg  over  the  top. 


A  professional  milk-punch  maker  would  have  two  tin 
cups,  as  in  cut,  the  top  of  the  smaller  cup  fitting  an  inch 
below  the  top  of  the  larger  cup. 


Egg  and  Milk  Punchy  Eggnog,  etc.  95 

The  punch  is  shaken  vigorously  up  and  down  for  two 
or  three  minutes,  when  it  is  poured  into  a  glass  with  a 
fine  froth  on  top. 

Or  the  milk  may  be  poured  dexterously  in  a  long 
stream  from  one  tumbler  to  another  to  produce  the 
froth. 

Egg  and  Milk  Punch. 

Stir  well  a  heaping  teaspoonful  of  sugar  and  the  yolk 
of  an  egg  in  a  goblet,  then  add  a  tablespoonful  of  best 
brandy  or  whiskey.  Fill  the  glass  with  fresh  new  milk 
until  it  is  three  quarters  full,  then  stir  well  into  the 
mixture  the  white  of  an  Qgg  beaten  to  a  stiff  froth. 

Eggnog. 

Whip  well  together  in  a  bowl  the  yolk  of  an  Qgg  and 
a  heaping  teaspoonful  of  sugar,  then  stir  in  a  table- 
spoonful  of  best  brandy  or  whiskey.  Now  stir  in  care- 
fully the  white  of  the  egg  beaten  to  a  stiff  froth,  and  a 
half  pint  (one  cupful)  of  sweet  cream  whipped  also  to  a 
froth.  The  Ggg  froth  and  the  whipped  cream  should 
be  quite  ready  before  the  other  ingredients  are  mixed 
together. 

Tom  and  Jerky. 

Beat  an  egg  (yolk  and  white)  with  a  heaping  tea- 
spoonful of  sugar,  until  it  is  very  light — quite  a  froth — 
then  mix  in  one  or  two  tablespoonfuls  of  rum  and 
three  fourths  of  a  cupful  of  boiling  water.  Turn  this 
back  and  forth  in  two  hot  pitchers  to  mix  well,  then 
pour  it  into  a  hot  glass.  Grate  a  little  nutmeg  over  the 
top  and  serve  immediately. 

Egg  Cordial.     (Lady  St.  Clair  in  "Dainty  Dishes.") 
"  One  tablespoonful  of  cream ;  the  white  of  a  very 
fresh  egg\   one  tablespoonful  of  brandy.     First  whip 
the  egg  nearly  to  a  frotli,  then  add  the  cream  and  whip 


96         Becevpts  for  the  Sick  and  Convalescent. 

both  together,  add  the  brandy  by  degrees  and  mix  wclL 
Do  not  let  it  stand  after  it  is  made.  This  is  very  nour- 
ishing, and  will  stay  on  the  stomach  when  nothing  else 
will.  The  receipt  was  given  me  by  the  late  Professor 
Miller  of  Edinburgh." 

The  author  would  suggest  the  addition  of  a  tea- 
spoonful  of  sugar. 

A  Glass  of  Ceeam. 
Of  all  the  beverages  there  is  nothing  more  whole- 
some for  a  convalescent  than  a  glass  of  fresh,  sweet 
cream.  It  is  a  hearty  meal  in  itself  with  the  addition 
of  a  cold  roll,  or  a  health -food  cracker  biscuit,  and 
perhaps  a  baked  apple.  This  is  preferable  to  a  repast 
with  tea  or  coffee.  A  glass  of  cream  served  at  a  Vienna 
cafe  is  partly  whipped. 

Tea. 

Two  things  are  necessary  to  insure  good  tea :  first  the 
water  should  be  at  the  boiling-point,  actually  bubbling 
(water  simply  hot  or  steaming  not  answering  the  pur- 
pose), and,  second,  that  the  tea  should  be  served  freshly 
made.  Tea  should  never  be  boiled,  nor  left  over  three 
minutes  after  it  is  made,  before  drinking. 

Scald  out  well  a  little  Chinese  earthenware  teapot, 
then  throw  into  it  two  teaspoonfuls  (not  heaping)  of 
good  black  tea  (English  breakfast  especially  recom- 
mended). Place  over  the  fire  some  clear,  fresh  water, 
and  when  it  begins  to  boil  well,  pour  two  cupfuls  into 
our  little  teapot.  Water  at  the  first  loiling  is  much 
better  than  when  boiled  for  some  time. 

Let  the  teapot  then  stand  at  the  side  of  the  fire 
(without  boiling)  a  minute. 

ISTow  serve  the  teapot.  Do  not  attempt  to  pour 
the  tea  into  the  cup  and  carry  it  some  distance  and  ex- 


Coffee.  97 

pect  it  to  be  au  jpoint,  but  place  the  teapot  on  the 
brightest  of  salvers.  On  this  have  a  plate  and  the 
whitest  of  napkins,  and  on  this  again  a  thin,  dainty  cup 
and  saucer  with  a  bright  teaspoon  at  the  side.  The 
little  teapot  takes  another  corner,  with  a  little  pitcher 
of  hot  water.  A  little  fancy  dish,  a  leaf  perhaps,  con- 
tains three  or  four  lumps  of  loaf  sugar,  and  a  second 
miniature  pitcher  a  few  spoonfuls  of  cream.  Connois- 
seurs do  not  drink  tea  with  cream  or  milk  however. 
On  anotlier  plate  is  the  milk  toast  or  whatever  is  de- 
cided upon  for  the  supper. 

Placing  this  salver  on  a  little  table  by  the  side  of  the 
invalid's  bed  or  chair,  the  invalid  can  see  the  tea  poured 
out  steaming  hot,  while  catching  its  pleasant  aroma. 
(See  further  remarks  about  tea,  page  1.) 

Coffee. 

I  once  watched  a  cordon  hleu  making  coffee  in  the 
common  coffee-pot.  For  several  reasons  I  believe  there 
is  no  better  method  of  making  it  than  his. 

We  will  not  take  his  proportions,  for  the  French  al- 
ways have  coffee  too  strong — at  least  too  strong  for  our 
invalid,  or  any  one  who  does  not  care  to  become  one. 
Allow  two  tablespoonfuls  of  coffee  to  a  pint  of  water. 
Put  the  coffee  in  the  coffee-pot,  and  pour  over  it  about  a 
third  of  a  pint  of  boiling,  bubbling  water;  cover  the 
coffee-pot  and  let  it  stand  until  just  about  to  boil  again, 
when  pour  in  the  second  third  ;  and  again,  when  this  is 
about  to  boil,  pour  in  the  remainder,  letting  it  stand 
until  it  reaches  the  same  point,  w^hen  set  it  back  of  the 
range  for  a  few  moments  to  settle.    Serve  immediately. 

Of  course  proper  attention  must  previously  have 
been  given  to  the  even  and  proper  roasting  of  the  cof- 
fee, remembering  that  one  burned  berry  can  quite  ruin 
the  flavor  of  the  whole.     Again,  the  coffee  is  much  bet- 


98         liecevpts  for  the  Sick  and  Convalescent. 

ter  when  the  berries  have  been  fresh  roasted.  If  they 
are  not  fresh  roasted,  place  them  a  few  minutes  in  the 
oven  before  grinding,  and  it  will  serve  to  freshen  them 
and  bring  out  the  oil.  It  is  a  good  idea  when  coffee  is 
fresh-roasted  and  still  liot  to  mix  in  a  little  of  the  white 
of  ^gg.  It  will  form  a  very  thin  coating  around  the 
berries,  serving  to  keep  them  fresh.  They  should  not 
be  ground  until  ready  for  use.  The  ^gg  then  serves  to 
clear  the  coffee.  A  mixture  of  two  thirds  Java  coffee 
and  one  third  of  Mocha  insures  the  best  coffee. 

The  flavor  of  the  coffee  will  be  altogether  different 
if  a  tablespoonful  of  sweet,  rich  cream  can  be  served 
with  it,  instead  of  milk  or  boiled  milk.  If  cream  is  out 
of  the  question,  use  hot  boiled  milk,  diluting  the  coffee 
always  with  the  hot  milk  instead  of  hot  water.  In  fact, 
coffee  made  with  milk  instead  of  Avater  is  most  excel- 
lent. Sweeten  the  coffee  with  lump  sugar.  The 
Vienna  coffee  is  served  with  one  or  two  tablespoonfuls 
of  whipped  cream  on  top  the  coffee  in  the  cup. 

Chocolate. 

For  invalids  the  homoeopathic  preparation  of  choco- 
late called  "  alkathrepta  "  is  the  most  wholesome,  for  the 
reason  that  it  contains  no  vanilla — and  vanilla  is  a  poi- 
son for  an  invalid.  The  homoeopathic  books  all  say 
that  it  is  a  most  unwholesome  if  not  poisonous  flavor- 
ing for  any  one.  Indeed,  vanilla  is  used  medicinally, 
sometimes. 

For  one  coffee -cupful  of  chocolate  (half- pint  cup) 
allow^  one  ounce  or  one  and  a  quarter  tablespoonfuls  of 
chocolate  and  one  and  a  quarter  cupf  uls  of  milk.  Scrape 
the  chocolate  into  a  tin  cup  and  mix  in  by  degrees  the 
quarter  cupful  of  cold  milk ;  stir  it  carefully  over  the 
fire  (taking  care  that  it  does  not  burn)  until  it  is  a  per- 
fectly smooth  paste. 


Seltzer-water  and  Milk.  99 

When  the  remaining  cupful  of  milk  is  boiling, 
sweeten  it  with  two  lumps  of  loaf  sugar,  and  stir  in  the 
chocolate  paste,  adding  a  little  of  the  boiling  milk  to  it 
at  first  to  dilute  it  evenly.  Let  it  boil  a  minute.  Stir 
it  into  a  froth  with  an  egg-whisk,  and  serve  immediately. 

A  tablespoonful  of  whipped  cream  on  top  of  the 
chocolate  in  the  cup  is  a  pleasing  addition. 

Seltzer-water  and  Milk. 

An  equal  quantity  of  milk  and  seltzer -water  mixed 
is  considered  a  desirable  beverage,  when  some  nourish- 
ment and  a  slight  aperient  are  required. 

A  friend  was  suffering  with  a  light  attack  of  pneu- 
monia in  New  York,  and  a  distinguished  physician  (Dr. 
Loomis)  prescribed  a  glassful  of  half  milk  and  half 
seltzer- water  to  be  taken  every  four  hours.  The  alter- 
nate two  hours  a  half  glassful  of  vichy  was  to  be  taken. 
This,  with  a  mustard  plaster  and  perfect  rest,  proved 
all-sufficient  for  a  rapid  recovery. 


BEEF   TEAS  AND   BROTHS. 

Beef  Tea. 

The  old  mode  of  making  beef  tea  by  boiling  meat 
and  water  several  hours,  or  even  boiling  it  at  all,  was  a 
mistaken  one.  An  extract  was  thus  obtained  devoid  of 
its  chief  nutritive  element,  albumen,  and  containing 
little  more  than  stimulating  qualities. 

Dr.  Holland,  in  his  admirable  little  work  on  "  Diet 
for  tlie  Sick,"  says  : 

"The  albuminoid  or  flesh-forming  principle  of  meats 
is  coagulated  by  hot  water,  and  either  remains  in  the 
meat  or  is  skimmed  off  the  extract  (as  scum).  The 
water  has  taken  up  the  mineral  salts  and  the  flavoring 
principle,  but  is  devoid  of  the  nutriment  commonly  sup- 
posed to  be  dissolved  by  it.  Soups  and  beef  tea  are 
stimulating  in  their  effect." 

One  of  our  army  surgeons  prepared  a  receipt  which 
was  issued  for  the  use  of  the  army  by  a  Circular  Order. 
The  receipt  is  as  follows : 

Beef  Extract  (see  next  receipt). 

Put  a  third  of  a  pound  of  fresh  beef,  finely  minced, 
in  fourteen  ounces  of  cold,  soft  water,  to  which  four  or 
five  drops  of  muriatic  acid  and  a  little  salt  (from  ten  to 
eighteen  grains)  have  been  added. 

After  digesting  for  an  hour  to  an  hour  and  a  quarter, 
strain  it  through  a  sieve,  and  wash  the  residue  with  five 
ounces  of  cold  water,  pressing  it,  to  remove  all  soluble 


matter.  The  liquor  will  contain  the  whole  of  the  solu- 
ble confetituents  of  the  meat  (albumen,  creatine,  etc.), 
and  it  may  be  drunk  cold  or  slightly  warmed.  The 
temperature  should  not  be  raised  above  100°  Fahr.,  as  at 
the  temperature  of  113°  Fahr.  a  considerable  portion  of 
the  albumen,  a  very  important  constituent,  will  be  co- 
agulated. 

Liebig's  Receipt  fok  Beef  Tea 
is  nearly  the  same,  viz. : — Ingredients :  Half  a  pound  of 
finely  minced  raw  beef  (chicken  or  any  meat  may  be 
similarly  used),  one  pint  of  pure  water,  four  drops  of 
muriatic  acid,  about  one  half  a  saltspoonful  of  salt. 
Dilute  the  acid  and  salt  well  in  three  fourths  of  a  pint 
of  the  water,  then  mix  well  with  the  meat.  Let  it 
stand  an  hour ;  strain  through  a  hair  sieve,  and  rinse 
the  residue  with  the  extra  quarter  of  a  pint  of  water. 

It  may  be  administered  in  a  red  wineglass  if  the 
patient  should  become  prejudiced  against  it  on  account 
of  its  red  color. 

Baron  Liebig  adds :  "  The  liquid  thus  obtained  con- 
tains the  juice  of  the  meat  with  the  albumen  in  an  un- 
coagulated  state,  and  syntonine,  or  muscle  fibrine,  which 
has  been  dissolved  by  the  agency  of  the  acid." 

It  seems  strange  that  Baron  Liebig,  with  so  much 
knowledge  of  the  subject,  should  have  made  his  "  beef 
extract"*  so  deficient  in  nutrient  qualities  as  to  be 
condemned  by  many  eminent  physicians.  Dr.  Dobell 
says :  "  It  is  important  to  bear  in  mind  that  Liebig's 
extract  of  meat  and  other  similar  preparations  con- 
tain very  little,  if  any,  nourishment  properly  so  called. 
.  .  .  Their  principal  virtues  belong  to  the  class  of  stim- 
ulants. .  .  .  When  mixed  with  water  they  are  excellent 
menstrua  in  which  to  administer  nutritive  materials, 

*  Another  preparation  largely  sold  in  market. 


102       ;'•,  ;  :,';  \Bcef  'TpM  and  .Broths. 

snch  as  eggs,  oatmeal,  etc. ;  but  without  siicli  additions 
they  are  incapable  of  sustaining  life  for  any  length  of 
time.  Unless  these  facts  are  borne  in  mind  a  patient 
may  easily  be  starved  unintentionally." 

Dobell  further  says :  "  Yalentine's  meat  juice  is  a 
most  useful  nutrient  for  the  sick-room.  It  contains  al- 
bumen in  solution,  and  hence  must  not  be  made  hot. 
A  teaspoonful  in  a  wineglassful  of  water  or  wine  is  a 
refreshing  change  from  the  usual  list  of  w^arm  foods, 
and  is  very  convenient  for  sudden  use  in  the  sick- 
room." 

The  Valentine  extract  will  become  acid  and  spoiled 
if  kept  too  long. 

Beef  Juice. 

Choose  a  thick  slice  of  fresh,  juicy  beef  without  fat. 
A  steak  cut  from  the  round  (leg)  contains  the  most 
juice.  Broil  it  for  only  a  minute,  or  long  enough  to 
merely  heat  it  throughout ;  cut  it  in  many  places,  and 
press  out  all  the  juice  (with  the  aid  of  a  beef-juice  press 
or  a  lemon-squeezer)  into  a  warm  bow^l.  The  bowl  may 
be  placed  in  a  basin  of  hot  water  to  keep  warm.  If  no 
meat-squeezer  is  at  hand,  the  meat  may  be  pressed  be- 
tween two  hot  saucers,  or  wath  a  strong  hand.  Be 
careful  to  salt  the  juice  very  slightly.  Kemove  the 
globules  of  fat.  It  may  be  served  by  the  teaspoonful 
as  ordinary  beef  tea,  or,  if  solid  food  can  be  taken,  the 
juice  may  be  poured  on  some  dry,  fresh-made  toast. 

Beef  Tea  for  Tkavelling. 
Chop  two  pounds  of  fresh,  juicy  beef,  cut  from  the 
round,  very  fine ;  place  it  in  a  bowl,  with  one  ounce  of 
gelatine  and  a  pint  of  cold  w^ater,  and  let  it  soak  for 
two  hours,  occasionally  squeezing  the  juice  from  the 
meat -pulp  with  the  hand.  At  the  end  of  the  two 
hours  pass  all  the  juice  through  a  fine  sieve,  again 


Beef  Tea  for  Convalescents.  103 

squeezing  all  the  juice  possible  from  the  meat -pulp. 
Season  it  judiciously  with  salt  and  a  little  pepper. 
Bring  this  juice  merely  to  the  boiling-point,  and  pour  it 
into  an  hermetically  sealed  glass  jar  (previously  heated 
in  hot  water),  and  seal  it  immediately. 

When  wanted  for  use  dissolve  two  or  three  teaspoon- 
fuls  of  the  jelly  in  half  a  cupful  of  boiling  water,  and 
give  it  to  the  patient  hot. 

A  Beef  Tea  for  Convalescents. 
Soak  three  quarters  of  a  pound  of  small-cut  pieces 
of  fresh,  bright-red,  lean  steak  (cut  from  the  round)  in 
a  pint  of  cold  rainwater  for  an  hour,  squeezing  the  beef 
occasionally  with  the  hand,  then  place  it  (beef  and 
water)  on  the  fire.  Let  it  come  slowly  to  a  boil,  and 
then  let  it  simmer  for  ten  minutes.  Pour  off  the  tea 
and  remove  the  fat ;  salt  it  slightly,  and,  if  allowable, 
add  the  slightest  bit  of  red  pepper ;  add  also  a  spoonful 
of  fresh  and  well  -  cooked  rice  or  barley,  or  dried  and 
toasted  dice  of  bread,  or  wafer  crackers,  or  a  poached 
e^g.     Serve  while  still  fresh-made  and  hot. 

To  Make  the  Bread  Dice,  or  Croutons. 

Cut  stale  bread  into  dice  about  half  an  inch  square, 
and  put  them  in  the  open  oven,  or  some  place  where 
they  will  become  thoroughly  dry  ;  then  toast  them  over 
the  fire,  or  brown  them  in  a  hot  oven,  to  a  nice  yellow 
color  on  all  sides ;  place  them  in  a  dish  at  one  side  of 
the  range,  that  they  may  remain  warm  until  the  moment 
of  serving.  By  keeping  them  warm  they  will  continue 
crisp  until,  put  into  the  beef -tea.  These  bread  dice  are 
nice  in  any  soup.  Bread  dice  for  soups  are  generally 
fried  to  a  light  brown  in  a  little  butter,  but  these  would 
not  be  recommended  for  an  invalid. 

Or,  slices  of  bread   may  be   cut   with   little  fancy 


104  Beef  Teas  and  Broths. 

shaped  cutters  into  pretty  figures  before  drying  and 
toasting,  and  then  they  may  be  digniiied  with  the  name 
of  croutons.  For  convalescents  it  would  not  be  amiss 
to  butter  the  dice  or  croutons  slightly  on  one  side. 

Chicken  Broth. 

Cut  up  half  a  chicken  (one  and  a  half  pounds)  in 
rather  small  pieces,  and  break  the  bones.  Do  not  wash 
it  if  you  would  save  the  whole  juice.  Put  it  in  the  clean- 
est of  saucepans  w4th  three  pints  of  clear  cold  water 
and  a  tablespoon ful  of  rice.  Bring  it  slowly  to  a  boil 
and  let  it  simmer  for  two  hours,  closely  covered.  Half 
an  hour  before  it  is  done  throw  in  a  little  sprig  of  pars- 
ley. AYhen  done,  pass  the  broth  through  a  sieve  into  a 
hot  bowl,  pressing  the  rice  through  with  a  spoon.  Let 
it  stand  a  moment,  and  then  skim  off  the  fat.  Salt  it 
with  care,  also  add  a  few  specks  of  red  pepper.  I  hard- 
ly dare  mention  the  red  pepper,  as  the  broth  is  good 
enough  without  it,  and,  if  any  is  used,  a  cook  is  sure  to 
put  in  too  much.  Or,  instead  of  rice,  granulated  barley 
or  wheat  may  be  used  for  a  thickening. 

The  broth  may  be  served  with  some  dainty  crackers, 
or  wafers  (page  122),  on  a  separate  dish,  to  be  broken 
into  the  broth  when  served ;  or,  for  a  change,  the  rice 
may  be  boiled  separately  and  a  tablespoonful  of  the 
whole  grains  added  after  the  broth  is  in  the  bowl. 

Mutton  Beoth. 
Cut  up  two  pounds  of  the  scrag  end  of  the  neck  of 
mutton  and  place  it  in  the  soup-kettle  with  two  quarts 
of  cold  water.  Bring  it  slowly  to  a  boil,  and  then 
place  it  on  the  range  to  simmer  for  two  hours.  Pass 
it  through  the  sieve;  season  it  carefully  with  salt  and 
the  slightest  quantity  of  pepper  (red  pepper  is  always 
preferable  if  used  carefully).     If  wanted  immediately, 


Beef  Broth.  105 

Bkim  off  the  fat.  It  is  better  to  set  it  away,  allowing 
the  fat  to  harden  on  top,  when  it  can  be  easily  removed. 
When  wanted  to  serve,  heat  it  to  the  boiling-point; 
pour  jnst  enough  in  a  thin  sonp-bowl  and  add  a  table- 
spoonful  of  fresh,  well-cooked  rice. 

The  pearled  barley  of  the  Health-food  Company  is  a 
valuable  thickening  for  mutton  broth.  Half  to  three 
quarters  of  an  hour  before  the  broth  is  done  a  table- 
spoonful  (two  ounces)  of  the  barley  may  be  added  to 
the  soup.  When  the  soup  is  strained  the  barley  grains 
may  carefully  be  taken  out  with  a  spoon  and  returned 
afterwards,  or  the  barley  may  be  cooked  in  other  water. 
For  a  change,  bread  dice,  or  croutons^  as  explained  on 
page  103,  may  be  added  to  the  broth. 

Cleae  Beef  Bkoth  with  Tapioca  ok  Sago. 
Take  four  pounds  of  lean  beef  and  bone  (two  pounds 
each) ;  cut  up  the  meat  and  break  the  bone ;  cover  it 
with  three  quarts  of  clear,  cold  water;  bring  it  slowly 
to  a  boil,  and  let  it  simmer  for  four  hours.  The  last 
hour  add  a  sprig  of  parsley,  two  or  three  slices  of 
onion  (previously  browned  in  a  platter  with  a  little 
butter),  and  a  slice  of  carrot.  When  done,  pour  the 
broth  through  the  sieve.  There  should  be  about  a  pint 
and  a  half  of  broth  remaining.  Remove  the  parti- 
cles of  fat.  Return  this  strained  broth  to  a  perfectly 
clean  kettle;  add  the  white  of  an  ^g^  (beaten  to  a  thin 
froth)  and  stir  it  well  into  the  broth  for  the  purpose 
of  clearing  it ;  bring  it  all  to  a  good  boil,  when  place 
the  kettle  one  side  for  a  few  minutes.  Pass  the  broth 
through  the  jelly  bag.  If  the  first  dripping  is  not  quite 
clear,  return  it  to  the  bag.  Season  the  broth  carefully 
with  salt  and  red  pepper,  remembering  that  it  only 
takes  the  slightest  quantity  of  the  latter;  add  also  a 
tablespoonf ul  of  either  tapioca  or  sago,  prepared  as  fol- 


106  Beef  Teas  and  Broths. 

lows :  Soak  two  teaspoonfuls  of  sago  or  tapioca  an  hour 
in  clear,  cold  water,  then  pour  off  the  water  and  stir  it 
into  a  pint  of  boiling  water.  Let  it  boil  slowly  for  half 
an  hour,  pour  off  the  water  and  let  it  steam  a  moment, 
and  then  it  is  ready  to  be  added  to  the  broth. 

Or,  the  broth  can  be  made  one  day  and,  when  strained, 
set  aside  until  the  next  day.  The  hardened  fat  at  the 
top  and  the  settlings  at  the  bottom  of  the  jelly  can  be 
easily  removed.  This  broth  will  be  tolerably  clear, 
though  not  so  much  so  as  when  cleared  with  the  white 
of  an  egg.  Sometimes  a  slice  of  lemon  (without  seeds) 
is  thrown  in  the  soup  bowl  just  as  the  broth  is  about 
to  be  served. 

Beef  Bkoth  with  a  Poached  Egg. 
Make  the  broth  as  in  the  preceding  receipt,  and,  in- 
stead of  tapioca,  add  to  the  bowl  when  ready  to  serve  a 
well-trimmed  and  carefully  poached  Qgg. 


GRUELS. 

I  WISH  to  call  special  attention  to  the  barley  gruel 
made  of  Robinson's  patent  barley  flour  (page  29),  as 
explained  in  the  following  receipt.  The  gruel  is  deli- 
cate and  delicious  in  flavor  and  is  most  invaluable  for 
nearly  all  conditions  of  sickness.  I  have  tried  tlie  same 
receipt  with  several  American  preparations  of  barley 
which  were  good,  but  not  to  be  compared  with  the  one 
first  mentioned.  It  would  be  well  for  our  own  manu- 
facturers not  to  be  outdone  in  supplying  an  article  so 
generally  useful. 

Barley  Geuel. 

Wet  gradually  (stirring  it  smooth)  half  an  ounce,  or 
one  tablespoonful,  of  Robinson's  patent  barley  flour, 
with  half  a  gill  of  cold  water ;  stir  well  into  it  one  gill 
of  boiling  water;  add  a  small  pinch  of  salt.  Let  it 
cook  over  the  fire  for  five  minutes,  stirring  it  slowly 
part  of  the  time,  then  add  half  a  gill  of  hot  milk.  Let 
it  again  come  just  to  a  boil,  then  take  it  off  the  fire,  stir 
in  a  teaspoonf  ul  of  sugar,  and  it  is  ready  to  serve.  Gruels 
are  always  better  when  served  quite  fresh-made  and  hot. 


108  Gruels, 

This  receipt  will  make  a  coffee-cupful  of  gruel.  One 
gill  contains  nine  tablespoonfuls  of  liquid.  Or,  for  a 
change,  a  most  delicious  blanc-mange  is  made  by  adding 
to  the  preceding  receipt,  when  just  cooked,  the  well- 
beaten  whites  of  two  eggs ;  stir  them  in  smoothly  and 
let  the  mixture  remain  a  minute  over  the  fire  (stirring 
it  meanwhile)  to  set  the  Q,gg^  though  not  allowing  it  to 
boil.  This  can  be  moulded  and  eaten  cold  with  a  little 
cream  poured  over,  yet  it  is  better  when  served  hot. 

Geaham-flour  Gruel. 

Ingredients:  Two  tablespoonfuls  (one  and  a  quar- 
ter ounces),  of  Graham  flour,  or,  what  is  much  bet- 
ter, the  granulated  wheat  of  the  "Health-food  Com- 
pany ; "  one  pint  and  a  half  of  water ;  a  saltspoonful 
of  salt  (not  heaping).  Mix  the  flour  with  a  quarter  of  a 
pint  of  cold  water,  pouring  in  only  two  or  three  table- 
spoonfuls at  first,  and  rubbing  it  well  to  keep  from 
lumphig,  then  gradually  adding  the  rest ;  mix  in  also 
the  salt ;  stir  in  the  extra  one  pint  and  a  quarter  of 
water,  when  it  (the  water)  is  boiling. 

Boil  it  slowly  for  an  hour,  or  until  reduced  one  half. 

Oatmeal  Gruel  (No.  1). 

Ingredients :  One  heaping  tablespoonful  (one  ounce), 
of  oatmeal ;  one  pint  and  two  tablespoonfuls  of  water ; 
half  a  saltspoonful  of  salt. 

Rub  the  oatmeal  smooth  with  two  tablespoonfuls  of 
cold  water.  Add  the  salt  to  the  pint  of  water  in  the 
saucepan,  and,  when  it  1)0118^  stir  in  the  oatmeal  paste. 
Let  it  boil  slowly  for  half  an  hour  w^ith  the  saucepan 
partly  covered. 

If  this  gruel  be  made  for  an  infant  it  should  be 
passed  through  a  sieve. 

The  gruel  above  described  is  that  whicli  is  most  fre- 


Oatmeal  Gruels^  Oatmeal  Caudle^  etc.        109 

quentlj  used.  A  stronger  diet  is  made  by  adding  one 
or  two  tablespoonfuls  of  cream  as  soon  as  the  gruel  is 
cooked.  The  gruel  when  cooked  will  be  reduced  to 
half  a  pint. 

When  a  nourishing  and  stimulating  diet  is  required, 
the  gruel  can  be  made  into  what  is  called  an  '^  oatmeal 
caudle"  (see  below). 

Oatmeal  Gruel  (JSTo.  2). — (Used  in  feverish  conditions.) 
This  preparation  of  oatmeal  is  given  by  the  United 
States  Dispensatory  as  follows :  "  Put  one  ounce,  or  a 
heaping  tablespoonful  of  oatmeal,  rubbed  smooth  in  a 
little  water,  into  three  pints  of  boiling  water,  and  boil 
it  until  reduced  to  two  pints ;  then  strain  it,  and  let  it 
cool  and  settle.  When  it  is  quite  cold,  pour  the  clear 
gruel  from  the  sediment,  add  the  juice  of  a  lemon,  and 
sugar  to  taste.  If  it  is  desired  to  have  it  warm,  heat  it 
before  adding  the  lemon  juice. 

Oatmeal  Caudle. 
Take  the  half-pint  of  simple  gruel  (as  was  described 
in  oatmeal  gruel  No.  1,  and  as  soon  as  it  has  slightly 
cooled  stir  in  a  teaspoonful  of  sugar  and  the  beaten 
yolk  of  an  ^g^\  return  the  gruel  to  the  fire  for  half 
a  minute  to  cook  and  set  the  o^gg^  stirring  and  not 
allowing  it  to  boil.  Take  it  again  from  the  fire  and 
add  a  tablespoonful  of  good  brandy,  Jamaica  rum, 
port,  or  sherry  wine. 

Flour  Gruel,  or  Thickened  Milk  (No.  1). 
Ingredients:  One  heaping  tablespoonful  of  flour, 
(one  ounce) ;  one  pint  and  three  tablespoonfuls  of 
milk;  salt.  Hub  the  flour  smooth  with  three  table- 
spoonfuls of  cold  milk,  then  stir  it  into  a  pint  of  boil- 
ing milk ;  add  half  a  saltspoonful  of  salt,  and  let  it  sim- 


110  Gruels. 

mer  for  five  minutes.  It  may  be  flavored  and  sweet- 
ened by  adding,  when  cooked,  a  teaspoonful  of  sugar 
and  a  grating  of  nutmeg,  or  a  dozen  raisins  may  be 
boiled  in  the  milk,  and  either  taken  out  afterwards  or 
left  in  for  appearance  sake,  though  they  are  not  to  be 
eaten. 

Flour  Gkuel  (]S"o.  2). 
When  the  flour  gruel  No.  1  is  just  done  take  it  from 
the  fire,  let  it  cool  half  a  minute,  then  stir  in  the  yolk  of 
an  Qgg,  beaten  well  with  two  teaspoonfuls  of  sugar; 
return  it  to  the  fire  (without  allowing  it  to  boil),  and 
stir  it  until  quite  hot  again  (a  half-minute),  then  mix 
in  smoothly  the  white  of  the  egg  beaten  to  a  stiff  froth. 
This  gruel  is  very  nice,  for  a  change,  with  the  beaten 
white  of  the  egg  added  without  the  yolk. 

Flouk  Gruel,  of  Prepared  Flour  (No.  3). 

To  prepare  the  flour,  knead  any  quantity  of  flour 
with  water  into  a  ball,  and  tie  the  whole  firmly  in  a 
linen  cloth;  put  it  into  an  iron  saucepan  and  cover  it 
with  boiling  water.  Let  it  boil  slowly  (replenishing 
with  boiling  water  when  necessary)  for  twelve  hours. 
Place  it  before  the  fire  to  dry,  and  afterwards,  when 
removing  the  cloth,  separate  a  thick  skin  or  rind  which 
lias  formed,  and  again  dry  the  ball. 

lieceipt :  Bring  a  pint  of  milk  with  half  a  saltspoon- 
ful  of  salt  to  a  boil,  and  then  stir  in  one  tablespoonful 
(one  ounce)  of  the  prepared  flour,  previously  rubbed 
smooth  with  three  tablespoonfuls  of  cold  milk;  cook 
about  three  minutes. 

An  excellent  diet  for  summer  complaint. 

EicE  Gruel. 
Ingredients:     One    well -filled    tablespoonful    (one 
ounce)  of  ground  rice ;  one  pint  and  three  tablespoon- 


Rice,  Farina,  Cornmeal  Gruels,  and  Panada.  Ill 

fills  of  milk  or  water ;  a  pinch  of  salt.  Mix  and  cook 
it  the  same  as  simple  oatmeal  gruel,  excepting  that  you 
boil  the  rice  gruel  fifteen  minutes. 

This  gruel  is  principally  used  for  bowel  complaints. 
If  the  doctor  prescribe  port  wine  or  brandy,  this  gruel 
can  be  made  with  a  teaspoonful  of  sugar  and  a  table- 
spoonful  of  the  wine  or  liquor  added. 

Fakina  Gruel. 

Rub  a  heaping  tablespoonfal  of  farina  smooth  with 
three  tablespoonfuls  of  milk,  and  add  it  to  a  pint  of 
boiling  water ;  add  also  a  pinch  of  salt.  Let  it  boil 
twenty  minutes,  stirring  occasionally.  When  done,  add 
two  gills  of  good,  sweet  cream.  This  gruel  can  also  be 
changed  as  was  described  for  flour  gruel — with  sugar 
and  Q^g  added. 

Cornmeal  Gruel. 

Ingredients:  One  pint  of  water;  a  little  salt;  six 
tablespoonfuls  of  milk;  one  tablespoonfal  (one  ounce) 
of  cornmeal  flour.  Mix  the  cornmeal  smooth  by  adding 
gradually  the  milk ;  add  also  the  salt,  and  stir  it  into 
a  pint  of  boiling  water.  After  it  begins  to  boil  let  it 
simmer  (uncovered)  for  forty  minutes. 

Panada. 
Sprinkle  a  little  salt  or  sugar  between  two  large  Bos- 
ton soda  or  Graham  crackers,  or  hard  pilot  biscuit ;  put 
them  into  a  bowl ;  pour  over  just  enough  boiling  water 
to  soak  them  well ;  put  the  bowl  into  a  vessel  of  boil- 
ing water,  and  let  it  remain  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes, 
until  the  crackers  are  quite  clear  and  like  a  jelly,  but 
not  broken.  Then  lift  them  carefully,  without  break- 
ing, into  a  hot  saucer.  Sprinkle  on  more  sugar  or  salt  if 
desired ;  a  few  spoonfuls  of  sweet,  thick  cream  poured 
over  is  a  good  addition  for  a  change.     Never  make 


112  Panada. 

more  than  enougli  for  a  patient  at  one  time,  as  it  is 
very  palatable  when  freshly  made,  and  quite  insipid  if 
served  cold. 

Toasted  bread  cut  into  thin,  even  slices  may  be 
served  in  the  same  way.  This  is  also  a  good  baby-diet 
for  a  child  over  seven  or  eight  months  old. 

A  panada  gruel  may  be  made  by  adding  to  a  cupful 
of  boiling  water,  in  a  saucepan,  a  half-cupful  of  stale 
bread  crumbs  (without  the  crust)  and  a  pinch  of  salt. 
Let  it  simmer  ^\q  or  ten  minutes,  or  until  it  is,  when 
stirred,  of  the  consistency  of  gruel.  It  can  be  sweet- 
ened or  not.  A  tablespoonfnl  of  split  raisins,  boiled 
with  the  gruel,  makes  a  pleasant  flavor.  Sprinkle  su- 
gar over  the  top  when  served.  The  raisins  should  not 
be  eaten.  If  panada  is  made  of  the  new-process  flour, 
it  is  as  nourishing  as  any  of  the  gruels. 


BREADS 
AND   OTHER  GRAIN  PREPARATIONS. 

Bread. 

It  is  very  important  to  have  wholesome,  sweet,  and 
well-made  bread,  especially  for  an  invalid.  The  new- 
process  flours  (see  page  29)  are  indispensable  for  mak- 
ing the  most  nutritious  white  bread. 

As  for  yeast,  the  Fleischman's  yeast  insures  always 
sweet  bread.  Receipts  come  with  these  yeast  cakes. 
The  brewers'  yeast  is  most  excellent.  A  gill  of  this 
yeast  to  three  and  a  half  pounds  of  flour  is  the  proper 
proportion.  In  the  country  the  home-made  yeast  is 
generally  used.  Yet  this  is  unreliable  unless  made  by 
an  expert. 

I  will  give  one  receipt  for  bread  which  can  be  made 
of  a  dry  yeast,  that  can  be  obtained  in  the  country.  It 
is  made  of  the  "National  Yeast,"  manufactured  at 
Seneca  Falls,  N.  Y.  "  On  the  Raquette,"  where  moist 
yeast  never  has  ventured,  and  we  hope  never  will,  we 
had  the  very  best  and  most  wholesome  of  bread  made 
of  this  yeast.  The  yeast  packages  are  dated,  so  that 
only  those  quite  fresh  need  be  purchased. 

If  baking-powder  is  used  for  any  of  the  small  bread 
receipts,  the  Horsford's  baking-powder  is  considered 
quite  reliable  and  hygienic. 


114        Breads  and  other  Grain  Preparations. 

Hatiiokn's  Adijrondack  Eeead. 

This  bread  can  be  made  in  one  day,  or  the  sponge 
may  be  made  at  night  and  finished  in  the  morning.  If 
made  in  one  day  the  sponge  must  be  given  a  warmer 
temperature,  which  will  cause  it  to  rise  more  quickly. 

To  be  quite  explicit,  when  setting  the  sponge  at  night 
for  four  loaves  of  bread,  place  in  a  large  bread-pan 
three  heaping  quarts  of  sifted  flour  and  a  teaspoonful 
of  salt.  Into  this  mix  one  and  a  quarter  cakes  of 
National  Yeast  (see  preceding  article)  which  has  been 
previously  soaked  for  a  few  minutes,  softened  and  mixed 
in  two  quarts  of  lukewarm  water,  or  water  at  about  the 
temperature  of  96°  Fahr.  Mix  this  all  well  together 
with  a  spoon,  and  it  will  make  a  sponge  a  little  thicker 
than  is  necessary  for  pancake  batter.  Cover  this  with 
a  clean  cloth,  several  times  folded,  and  set  it  to  rise 
over-night,  selecting  a  situation  where  as  even  a  tem- 
perature as  possible,  of  about  70°  Fahr.,  can  be  obtained. 
In  the  morning,  at  about  seven  or  eight  o'clock,  the 
sponge  will  be  found  to  be  in  bubbles,  not  increased, 
however,  more  than  a  third  of  its  original  size.  At  this 
time  add  enough  more  flour  to  make  it  a  dough  solid 
enough  to  handle,  though  not  too  stiff.  Knead  it  for 
about  ten  minutes,  not  more,  as  the  grain  of  bread  does 
not  want  to  be  too  fine.  Then  cover  it  again  in  the  pan 
and  set  it  at  the  side  of  the  fire  (temp,  about  90°)  until 
it  has  increased  about  double  or  more  in  size.  This  will 
require  about  five  hours.  ISTow  separate  it  into  loaves, 
knead  them  separately  two  or  three  minutes,  and  place 
them  in  the  baking-pans.  Cover  and  set  them  to  rise 
for  the  third  time  in  the  same  warm  place.  This  will 
require  about  an  hour  longer,  when  they  are  ready  to 
bake  in  a  rather  quick  oven. 

If  it  be  desirable  to  make  the  bread  in  one  day,  the 


Graham  Bread.  115 

sponge  can  be  set  early  in  the  morning,  say  seven  o'clock, 
and,  placing  it  in  a  temperature  of  about  90°,  it  will  be 
ready  for  the  second  handling  in  about  five  or  six  hours. 
At  one  o'clock  it  can  be  kneaded  as  before  described, 
at  ^\Q  o'clock  it  can  be  made  into  loaves,  and  at  six  or 
six  and  a  half  o'clock  it  will  be  ready  for  baking. 

A  good  Graham  bread  can  be  made  by  preparing 
the  sponge  with  white  flour  and  mixing  afterwards  with 
the  Graham  flour. 

Graham  Bread  (Quogue  Receipt). 

Ingredients:  one  cupful  light  bread  sponge  (in  the 
morning) ;  one  cupful  lukewarm  water  ;  one  large  table- 
spoonful  molasses ;  one  large  spoonful  of  lard  or  nice 
drippings ;  a  small  half  teaspoonf  ul  soda ;  Graham  flour ; 
a  little  salt. 

Dissolve  the  soda  in  the  water  and  pour  it  and  the 
molasses,  lard  (soft),  and  salt  into  the  sponge.  Mix  it 
together,  then  stir  in  as  much  Graham  flour  as  you  con- 
veniently can  with  a  spoon,  making  a  stiff  batter.  Put 
immediately  into  a  rectangular  pan  (buttered)  about  ten 
inches  long,  six  inches  wide,  and  four  inches  high.  Set 
it  in  a  warm  place,  and  when  w^ell  raised  (or  when  this 
sized  pan  is  even  full)  bake  it  immediately  for  an  hour. 

Graham  Bread  (Health-food  Co.). 
Ingredients  :  one  cupful  bread  sponge ;  one  half  cup- 
ful warm  water ;  two  cupf uls  Graham  flour,  or  as  the 
Health-food  Company  calls  it,  granulated  wheat;  one 
cupful  cornmeal,  or,  without  the  Indian  meal,  three 
cupf  uls  of  granulated  wheat ;  lard  the  size  of  an  ^gg ; 
one  half  teaspoonf  ul  salt;  one  tablespoonful  sugar. 
The  ingredients  are  mixed  together  as  directed  in  the 
preceding  receipt. 


116        Breads  and  other  Grain  Preparations. 

Boston  Bkown  Bread. 

Ingredients:  two  cupfuls  (one  pint)  milk;  two  cup- 
f uls  cornrneal ;  one  cupful  rje  meal,  or,  if  more  con- 
venient, Graham  flour ;  a  scant  half-cupful  New  Or- 
leans molasses;  one  scant  teaspoonful  soda;  one  tea- 
spoonful  salt;  steam  four  hours;  bake  twenty  minutes. 

Mix  the  cornrneal,  rye  flour,  and  salt  well  together ; 
dissolve  the  soda  evenly  first  with  a  little  of  the  milk, 
then  with  the  whole  pint.  Make  a  little  well  in  the 
flour,  in  which  pour  in  the  molasses,  then  the  mixed 
milk  and  soda.  Stir  all  well  together  free  from  lumps, 
and  pour  it  quickly  into  a  double  kettle  (see  page  85), 
buttered,  in  which  the  water  is  already  boiling.  Boil  it 
four  hours,  never  allowing  the  water  to  stop  boiling ; 
then  take  out  the  bread  and  bake  it  for  twenty  minutes 
in  the  oven. 

If  no  double  kettle  be  at  hand,  pour  the  bread  paste 
into  a  long  tin  pail,  which  cover,  and  set  in  an  iron  pot 
of  boiling  water,  the  water  reaching  about  three  fourths 
to  the  top  of  the  pail.  Cover  also  the  iron  pot,  confin- 
ing the  steam  as  much  as  possible.  As  the  water  boils 
down  replenish  it  with  boiling  water. 

A  SLICE  OF  Boston  Bbown  Bread  covered  with  cream 
makes  a  good  breakfast  for  an  invalid.  A  little  sugar 
may  or  may  not  be  sprinkled  over. 

Toast. 
Cooks  generally  show  great  carelessness  and  igno- 
ance  in  making  toast.  The  bread  slices  are  generally 
cut  too  thick,  the  crust  is  not  taken  off,  and  in  the 
hurry  of  preparation  the  slices  are  unevenly  colored, 
and  the  centre  is  often  a  mass  of  hot  dough.  Instead 
of  a  most  digestible  article  of  diet,  as  it  should  be  if 


properly  made,  it  becomes  the  most  unwholesome  of 
breads. 

The  slices  should  be  cut  quite  thin  and  even,  the 
shapes  made  regular  by  cutting  off  the  crust  and  uneven 
sides.  The  scraps  of  bread  left  may  be  dried  and 
saved  in  a  can  for  bread-crumbing,  i.  e.,  they  are  not 
to  be  wasted.  The  slices  can  be  placed  on  a  tin  platter 
and  dried  for  a  little  time  in  the  open  oven,  or  at  the 
top  of  the  range,  when  they  will  toast  very  quickly. 
The  operation  is  not  so  quick  without  this  drying 
process,  for  then  the  slices  must  be  placed  in  the  toaster 
and  simply  turned  from  one  side  to  the  other  without 
coloring  until  the  bread  is  thoroughly  dried  through, 
then  it  should  receive  a  deep  yellow  color  quite  even 
and  artistic.  If  allowed  to  color  at  first  it  will  be  dif- 
ficult to  dry  the  interior. 

If  the  toast  is  to  be  served  dry  it  should  be  served 
immediately  on  a  warm  plate ;  indeed,  the  bread  should 
not  be  toasted  until  the  person  for  whom  it  is  intended 
is  ready  to  eat  it.  If  the  toast  is  made  to  serve  with  a 
poached  egg,  a  bird,  or  a  vegetable,  a  little  boiling  wa- 
ter should  be  poured  in  the  bottom  of  the  plate  to 
partly  soften  the  toast.  It  should  be  buttered,  and  salt- 
ed slightly  also,  as  soon  as  cooked.  A  prettier  way  of 
serving  toast  is  in  the  form  of 

Sippets. 
Cut  thin   slices  of  bread  into  parallelogram  strips ; 
toast  them  carefully  and  evenly,  without  breaking,  un- 
til   they    are    crisp    and 
golden.     Serve  them    on 
a   hot   plate   as   soon   as 
they  come  from  the  fire, 
arranged   as   in    cut,  and 
slightly  buttered  if  there  be  no  objection. 


118       Breads  and  other  Grain  Preparations. 

Bread  sippets  are  sometimes  served  to  an  invalid  with 
the  juice  from  roast  beef  or  mutton  poured  over.  For 
this  the  bread  slices  need  not  always  be  toasted. 

Watek  Toast. 
Have  an  artistic  piece  of  toast  made  as  described  in 
the  article  on  toast,  and,  while  still  hot,  spread  a  little 
butter  evenly  over  the  top,  also  a  slight  sprinkling  of 
salt ;  pour  over  three  fourths  of  a  cupful  of  boiling 
water.  Cover  the  dish  with  a  saucer,  and  place  it  in 
the  oven  for  a  few  minutes  to  soak  up  the  water,  then 
serve  immediately. 

Ckeam  Toast  (very  good). 
Toast  the  slice  of  bread  as  before  explained  ;  place  it 
on  a  hot  plate ;  pour  over  boiling  water,  which  drain 
off  again  in  a  few  moments,  allowing  the  bread  to  be- 
come partly  soft ;  spread  over  a  little  butter  and  sprin- 
kle over  a  little  salt,  then  pour  over  three  or  four  table- 
spoonfuls  of  fresh,  sweet  cream.  Let  it  remain  in  the 
hot  oven  two  or  three  minutes  to  swell. 

MocK-cEEAM  Toast. 
Read  over  the  article  on  "  toast,"  and  while  two 
slices  of  bread  are  drying  in  the  oven  make  the  sauce 
as  follows :  Put  in  a  little  saucepan  a  cupful  (one  half 
pint)  of  milk;  when  it  begins  to  boil  stir  in  two  even 
teaspoonfuls  of  flour,  rubbed  smooth  with  a  tablespoon- 
ful  of  cold  milk,  also  a  pinch  of  salt ;  let  it  boil  a  min- 
ute, allowing  the  flour  to  cook  thoroughly ;  now  take  it 
from  the  fire,  add  a  piece  of  butter  the  size  of  a  hickory- 
nut,  and  stir  in  the  white  of  an  Q,gg  beaten  to  a  stiff 
froth  ;  return  the  saucepan  to  the  fire  for  a  moment  to 
set  the  Qigg^  without  allowing  the  sauce  to  boil.  Place 
the  saucepan  at  the  back  of  the  range,  while  you  care- 


Milh  Toast. — Fulled  Bread. — Zwiebach.      119 

fully  toast  the  two  slices  of  bread;  dip  them,  when 
toasted,  a  moment  in  boiling  water,  then  sprinkle  over 
a  little  salt  and  the  thinnest  layer  of  butter ;  pour  over 
the  sauce  and  serve  immediately. 

Milk  Toast. 

Prepare  the  toast  as  described  for  "water  toast," 
only,  instead  of  water,  pour  over  milk  prepared  as  fol- 
lows :  Bring  a  cupful  of  milk  to  a  boil,  then  stir  in  an 
even  teaspoonfnl  of  flour,  rubbed  smooth,  with  a  table- 
spoonful  of  cold  milk  ;  add  also  a  pinch  of  salt.  Let  it 
boil  a  minute  to  cook  the  flour  thoroughly,  then  take  it 
from  the  fire,  stir  in  butter  the  size  of  a  hickory-nut; 
pour  it  over  the  toast  placed  in  a  hot  dish,  set  it  in  the 
oven  for  two  or  three  minutes  to  soak,  then  serve  im- 
mediately. 

Pulled  Beead. 

Break  off  irregular  pieces  of  fresh  bread  about  the 
size  of  an  Qgg^  and  bake  them  in  a  slow  oven  until  quite 
dry  and  slightly  colored. 

Pieces  of  stale  bread  or  cold  biscuits  split  in  two 
can  be  made  as  good  as  new  by  dipping  them  quickly 
in  cold  water  and  baking  them  in  a  hot  oven  until  the 
surface  is  crisp  and  the  interior  is  well  heated  through. 

Zwieback. 

The  German  zwieback,  which  can  be  obtained  of  the 
bakers,  is  an  excellent  breakfast  bread,  to  serve  with  a 
liot  beverage.  It  is  composed  merely  of  slices  of  rusk 
dried  in  a  very  slow  oven  to  a  delicate  orange  color. 
Yienna  bread  slices  are  prepared  in  the  same  way. 

The  zwieback  is  subjected  for  a  long  time  to  a  slow, 
even  heat,  which  can  be  best  obtained  in  a  brick-oven. 


120        Breads  and  other  Qrain  Preparations. 

Coffee  Cake. 

Ingredients :  Two  cupf  uls  of  bread  sponge ;  one  egg ; 
one  half  cupful  of  sugar;  lard,  the  size  of  a  hickory- 
nut  ;  one  cupful  of  warm  water. 

Mix  these  ingredients  together  and  make  a  dough 
not  quite  as  stiff  as  for  bread.  Let  it  rise  well  (about 
two  hours  or  more) ;  roll  it  out  about  an  inch  thick.  It 
will  spread  over  a  large,  square  platter.  Let  it  rise  again 
until  quite  light  (half  an  hour  or  more).  Before  plac- 
ing in  the  oven,  spread  over  the  top  one  egg  (both  w^hite 
and  3^olk)  beaten  with  a  teaspoonf  ul  of  sugar,  and  again 
sprinkle  over  this  about  a  teaspoonful  of  coarse,  gran- 
ulated sugar. 

Dixie  Biscuits. 


This  delicious  biscuit  I  have  dared  to  recommend  for 
convalescents  for  a  change  of  bread,  as  it  is  to  be  eaten 
cold.  Like  the  Vienna  bread,  made  with  the  same  yeast, 
they  are  better  quite  fresh-baked,  or  as  soon  as  cold. 

Ingredients:  three  pints  of  sifted  flour  (one  and  a 
quarter  pounds) ;  one  and  a  half  coffee-cupfuls  of  milk 
(three  quarters  of  a  pint) ;  lard,  size  of  an  egg ;  one  egg  ; 
one  third  of  a  cake  of  Fleischman's  compressed  yeast; 
one  teaspoonful  of  salt;  a  tablespoon  even  full  of  sugar. 

The  measure  of  milk  is  a  pint  after  the  lard  is  added. 
Put  this  mixture  (the  milk  and  lard)  over  the  fire,  and 
just  as  it  comes  to  a  boil  take  it  off  and  let  it  get  luke- 


Dixie  Biscuits,  121 

warm ;  in  the  meantime  put  the  yeast  cake  to  dissolve 
in  a  couple  of  tablespoonfuls  of  milk,  and  so  soon  as 
the  yeast  becomes  soft,  rub  it  smooth  and  add  it  to  the 
milk  and  lard  when  the  latter  are  lukewarm  (not  before). 
Mix  the  salt  and  flour  well  together;  make  a  well  in 
the  middle,  pour  in  the  eg^^  well  beaten,  with  the  sugar, 
then  the  milk,  lard,  and  yeast.  Stir  all  well  together 
with  a  spoon,  place  it  in  a  moderately  warm  place  at  the 
side  of  the  range.  When  it  has  risen  light  (about  an 
hour,  or  possibly  a  little  longer),  knead  it,  without  add- 
ing more  flour,  about  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes,  always 
stretching  out  the  dough  towards  you,  doubling  it,  and 
kneading  on  top  (to  form  a  proper  grain).  Cover  and 
set  it  away  until  it  has  risen  quite  light  again  (about 
three  or  four  hours).  Then  roll  it  out  a  good  half-inch 
thick ;  cut  it  neatly  with  a  cutter  about  two  and  three 
fourths  inches  in  diameter;  roll  the  smaller  cuts  left, 
to  about  half  the  thickness  of  the  other,  and  cut  it  with 
a  second  cutter  two  inches  in  diameter  (a  kitchen  pep- 
per-box top  will  do).  Place  the  small  cuts  on  top  the 
large  ones  in  a  platter,  and  do  not  place  the  large  ones 
too  near  each  other.  When  all  are  arranged  set  them 
away  to  rise  for  the  third  time  (about  an  hour).  When 
quite  light,  bake  in  a  quick  oven.  If  the  biscuits  are 
wanted  for  the  invalid's  six-o'clock  tea,  they  should  be 
begun  about  half-past  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning. 

Or  the  dough 
(without  the  eg;g 
and  sugar  if  for 
a  dinner  or  break- 
fast bread)  can  be 
made  in  the  form 
of  braids,  as  shown  in  cut.  This  is  easily  done.  Three 
rolls  of  even  size  are  braided,  the  ends  trimmed  and 
turned  under. 

C 


122        Breads  and  other  Grain  Preparations. 

Wafer  Biscuits. 

Rub  a  piece  of  butter  the  size  of  a  large  hickorj-niit 
into  a  pint  of  sifted  flour;  sprinkle  over  a  little  salt. 
Mix  this  into  a  stiff,  smooth  paste,  using  therefor  the 
white  of  an  egg  beaten  to  a  froth  and  some  warm  milk. 
Beat  the  paste  with  a  rolling-pin  for  half  an  hour  or 
longer ;  the  more  the  dough  is  beaten  the  better  are  the 
biscuits.  Form  the  dough  into  little  round  balls  about 
the  size  of  a  pigeon's  egg^  then  roll  each  of  them  to  the 
size  of  a  saucer.  They  should  be  mere  wafers  in  thick- 
ness.    Sprinkle  a  little  flour  over  the  tins.     Bake. 

These  wafers  are  exceedingly  good  to  serve  with  an  in- 
valid's soup,  or  with  a  cup  of  tea,  or  they  may  be  soaked 
in  the  oven  with  cream  or  milk,  as  described  for  cream 
toast.  When  made  with  the  new-process  flour  or  the  cold- 
blast  flour,  containing  the  full  nutrition  of  the  wheat, 
these  wafers,  when  soaked  in  a  nutrient  liquid,  constitute 
for  the  invalid  not  only  a  healthful,  but  a  sufiicient  meal. 

Wafers  of  oatmeal,  granulated  wheat,  barley-gluten, 
etc.,  or  of  mixtures  of  different  grains,  can  be  made  in 
the  same  manner  as  the  wafers  described  in  the  preced- 
ing receipt,  or  they  may  be  made  by  simply  adding  a 
little  salt  and  mixing  with  water,  then  beaten  for  twenty 
minutes  or  more. 

They  may  be  varied  in  design  ;  for  instance,  cut  into 
diamond  shape  with  a  knife,  or  with  a  scalloped  paste 
jagger,  or  in  long,  narrow  strips  four  inches  long  and 
three  fourths  of  an  inch  wide,  like  toast  sippets.  How- 
ever they  are  cut,  let  them  be  quite  regular  and  even  in 
shape  and  also  baked  with  care. 

Corn  Bread  (N'o.  1).— (U.  S.  Hotel,  Saratoga.) 
Ingredients  :    Two  cupf uls  flour ;  one  cupful  and  a 


Corn  Bread.  123 

lialf  of  cornraeal;  a  scant  half  cupful  of  sugar;  one 
and  two  thirds  cupful  sweet  milk ;  two  eggs ;  lard  or 
butter,  size  of  an  egg  (one  ounce) ;  a  saltspoonful  of 
salt ;  three  teaspoonf  uls  of  baking-powder. 

Mix  the  flour,  cornraeal,  salt,  and  baking-powder 
well  together;  next  beat  together  the  sugar  and  eggs, 
and  add  them  to  the  flour,  etc.,  and  at  the  same  time 
the  butter  (melted)  and  the  milk.  Mix  all  well  togeth- 
er and  bake  immediately. 

Sour  milk  can  be  used,  when  a  teaspoonful  of  soda 
dissolved  in  a  quarter  cupful  of  hot  water  should  be 
substituted  for  the  baking-powder. 

CoKN  Bbead  (No.  2). 
Ingredients:  one  pint  cornmeal ;  one  pint  of  sweet 
milk;  one  egg\  one  tablespoonful  of  sugar  or  syrup; 
one  teaspoonful  lard  (melted) ;  two  teaspoonf  uls  baking- 
powder.  If  sour  milk  is  used,  a  half  teaspoonful  of  soda 
instead  of  the  cream  of  tartar  should  be  substituted. 

Corn  Bread  (No.  3). — (Very  good.) 
Ingredients :  one  cupful  and  a  half  of  milk  ;  one  cup- 
ful of  fine  cornmeal,  sifted  ;  two  eggs  ;  scant  tablespoon- 
ful of  butter ;  one  teaspoonful  of  sugar ;  one  teaspoonful 
of  baking-powder.  Pour  the  milk,  boiling,  on  the  sift- 
ed meal.  When  cold,  add  the  butter  (melted),  the  salt, 
sugar,  baking-powder,  the  yolks  of  the  eggs,  and  lastly 
the  whites,  well  beaten  separately.  Bake  half  an  hour 
in  a  hot  oven. 

Or  the  corn  cake  is  still  better  as  follows: — Ingre- 
dients :  one  pint  of  milk  ;  half  a  pint  of  cornmeal 
(sifted) ;  four  eggs ;  a  scant  tablespoonful  of  butter, 
salt,  and  one  teaspoonful  of  sugar. 

This  last  receipt  contains  no  baking-powder.  The 
whites  of  the   eggs   should  be  well  beaten  to  a  stiff 


124        Breads  and  other  Grain  PrejMratlons. 

froth.      The   ingredients   are  put  together  exactly  as 
described  in  first  receipt. 

CoKN  Rice  Bkead. 
Ingredients :  one  half  pint  of  cornmeal  (one  cupful) ; 
one  pint  of  cold  boiled  rice;  one  half  pint  (one  cupful) 
of  milk;  one  cgg\  one  half  teaspoonful  of  salt;  one  ta- 
blespoonful  of  sugar;  butter,  size  of  pigeon's  Q^g\  one 
teaspoonful  of  baking-powder.  Mix  the  baking-powder, 
sugar,  salt,  and  cornmeal  well  together.  Pass  the  rice 
through  the  collander,  and  add  it  to  the  milk,  Qgg^  and 
butter  (melted).  Then  stir  in  the  cornmeal,  etc.,  and 
put  it  quickly  in  the  oven. 

IIoE  Cake. 
Pour  enough  boiling  water  and  milk  mixed  (say  half 
and  half — the  milk  causes  it  better  to  brown)  on  corn- 
meal, salted,  to  make  it  rather  moist.  Let  it  stand  an 
hour  or  longer.  Put  two  or  three  heaping  tablespoon- 
fuls  on  a  hot  griddle  greased  with  lard.  Smooth  over 
the  surface,  making  a  flat  cake  about  half  an  inch  thick 
and  of  round  shape.  When  browned  on  one  side,  turn, 
and  brown  it  on  the  other.  Serve  very  hot.  A  good 
breakfast  cake  with  a  savory  crust. 

Pancakes  (of  Flour,  Granulated  Wheat,  Cornmeal, 
Bread  Crumbs,  Oatmeal,  Pice,  Gluten,  etc.). 

Stir  two  cupfuls  of  milk  into  two  beaten  eggs,  and 
stir  in  enough  of  any  of  the  flours  to  make  a  thin  bat- 
ter; add  a  little  salt,  and  then  sprinkle  over  and  stir  in 
w^ell  a  heaping  teaspoonful  of  baking-powder  (if  the 
milk  is  sweet)  just  before  baking. 

If  there  is  any  cold  boiled  rice,  oatmeal  porridge, 
hominy,  etc.,  at  hand,  some  of  any  or  all  of  these  im- 
prove very  much  the  pancakes.     The  pancakes  are  also 


Currant  Scone. — Hard  Graham  Bolls,        125 

better  the  whites  of  the  eggs  are  beaten  to  a  stiff  froth, 
and  this  and  the  baking-powder  are  added  just  when 
the  cakes  are  to  be  cooked  (not  before). 

If  sour  milk  is  used,  a  scant  half-teaspoonful  of  soda 
dissolved  in  a  little  warm  water  should  be  stirred  in  the 
last  thing,  although  more  or  less  of  soda  is  used,  accord- 
ing to  the  acidity  of  the  milk.  If  the  griddle  is  quite 
hot  and  smooth,  and  is  merely  moistened  with  a  little 
lard,  the  cakes  will  not  be  greasy  nor  so  very  unwhole- 
some. However,  I  will  not  risk  recommending  them 
for  our  invalid. 

CuEEANT  Scone   ("Hygienic  Cookery"). 

Ingredients:  two  cupfuls  sifted  Graham  flour;  two 
cupf uls  sifted  white  flour ;  one  cupful  and  a  half  of  thin 
sweet  cream — part  milk  will  do  ;  one  cupful  and  a  half 
of  English  currants,  picked,  washed,  and  drained ;  two 
and  a  half  teaspoonfuls  of  baking-powder,  or  two-thirds 
teaspoonful  of  soda,  and  one  and  a  half  teaspoonfuls  of 
cream  tartar.  Stir  together  the  Graham  and  white  flour, 
add  the  soda  (pulverized)  and  cream  tartar  (or,  in  its  place, 
the  baking-powder),  and  sift  two  or  three  times.  Then 
stir  in  tlie  currants,  and  wet  with  the  cream  to  make  a 
tolerably  stiff  dough ;  knead  as  little  as  possible ;  gath- 
er up  the  mass  lightly  till  it  will  stick  together,  and  roll 
to  the  thickness  of  half  or  three  quarters  of  an  inch. 
Prick  deeply  with  a  fork  or  draw  shallow  lines  across 
the  top,  forming  diamond  creases.     Bake. 

It  is  very  good  made  of  Graham  flour  without  the 
white  flour.  It  is  not  good  the  day  after  it  is  baked. 
For  an  invalid  it  is  a  good  cake,  eaten  with  grape  juice, 
etc. 

Haed  GeaiIxVm  Rolls. 

This  is  a  bread  much  used  by  the  hygienists,  and  is 
called  "  the  perfect  bread "  by  Dr.  Trail.     It  is  much 


126       Breads  and  other  Grain  Prej)araUons. 

relished  by  those  who  have  become  accustomed  to  it, 
and  who  crave  "  no  spice  but  hunger,  no  stimulant  but 
exercise." 

It  is  made  by  simply  mixing  cold  water — the  colder 
the  better — into  good  Graham  flour  until  it  becomes  a 
moderately  stiff  dough,  and  kneading  or  pounding  it, 
like  the  Southern  beaten  biscuit,  for  twenty  minutes  or 
more,  until  it  becomes  smooth  and  elastic  to  the  touch, 
and  brittle  if  pulled.  If  the  dough  is  too  stiff  the  bis- 
cuit will  be  dry  and  hard,  and  if  too  soft  it  will  be  v/et 
and  clammy.  It  will  require,  perhaps,  two  thirds  of 
a  pint  of  water  to  mix  a  quart  of  flour,  although  the 
quantity  will  vary  according  to  the  grade  of  flour.  The 
best  of  Graham  flour  is  made  by  Ferdinand  Schumacher, 
of  Akron,  Ohio,  and  also  by  the  Health-food  Company. 
The  dough  is  formed  into  little  biscuits  about  three 
inches  long  and  not  quite  three  fourths  of  an  inch  wide. 
Make  out  the  panful  quickly,  setting  them  a  little  apart ; 
prick  them  with  a  fork,  and  bake  in  a  rather  quick  oven. 
When  done  they  should  not  yield  to  the  pressure  of  the 
finger.  They  may  be  made  into  the  form  of  stems  of 
the  shape  of  lady's  fingers. 

These  rolls  are  better  baked  fresh,  although  if  any 
are  left  from  the  day  before  they  are  most  excellent 
when  warmed  over,  as  follows :  Break  each  roll  into 
two  or  three  pieces  (do  not  cut  them) ;  drop  them  into 
cold  water,  and  when  soaked  place  them  on  a  bread-pan 
in  a  brisk  oven  which  will  crisp  without  shrivelling 
them.  As  soon  as  stiff  and  lightly  crisped  they  are 
done. 

Ceacked  Wheat. 
The  receipt  here  given  is  undoubtedly  the  very  best 
one  for  cooking  cracked  wheat,  or  the  whole  grain  of 
wheat.     It  is  one  of  the  most  important  receipts  in  the 


Cracked  Wheat  127 

book,  for  the  invalid,  or,  indeed,  for  any  one.  It  sup- 
plies a  dish  very  palatable,  and  although  light  and 
wholesome  enough  for  the  most  delicate  stomach,  it  is 
as  hearty  in  the  richness  and  fulness  of  its  nourishing 
qualities  as  a  full  meal  of  meat  and  vegetables.  It  was 
a  very  favorite  dish  at  the  Vienna  bakery  in  St.  Louis, 
and  many  went  there  for  the  purpose  of  taking  it  for 
luncheon.  Several  spoke  to  me  about  it,  extolling  its 
merits ;  but  as  cracked  wheat  had  been  an  unpalatable 
dish  to  me  as  compared  with  oatmeal,  I  was  slow  to  try 
it.     As  soon  as  tried,  however,  served  as  never  seen  be- 


CRACKED   WHEAT. 


fore,  viz.,  cooked  with  milk,  each  grain  lying  separate 
in  a  cream  jelly,  served  cold  in  a  moulded  shape  and 
with  a  little  pitcher  of  cream,  and  a  bright  silver  urn 
containing  pulverized  sugar  accompanying  it,  I  be- 
came an  immediate  convert,  and  it  has  been  a  very 
frequent  dish  at  home  ever  since. 

It  is  well  to  ask  for  the  cracked  wheat,  double  milled, 
at  the  grocer's  or  miller's,  if  you  would  avoid  the  sili- 
cious  fibre  which  encircles  the  grain,  and  which  is  some- 
times unwholesome  for  those  with  delicate  stomachs. 
The  preparation  I  prefer  is  the  whole  grain,  as  sold  by 


128      Breads  and  other  Grain  Preparations. 

the  Health-food  Company  of  New  York,  which  is  quite 
free  from  the  woody  skin. 

Receijpt  —  The  ingredients  are,  one  half  cupful  of 
cracked  wheat ;  two  and  a  half  cupf uls  of  water ;  two 
and  a  half  cupfuls  of  milk ;  one  half  teaspoonf ul  salt. 

Salt  the  water,  and  when  it  comes  to  a  boil  add  the 
grits  and  let  it  simmer,  without  cover,  on  top  of  the  range 
for  an  hour.  The  water  will  then  be  almost  evapo- 
rated ;  then  add  the  milk  (hot)  and  let  it  cook  an  hour 
longer.  Stir  it  occasionally  to  keep  the  wheat  from  at- 
taching at  the  bottom,  and  also  to  mingle  evenly  the 
grains  with  the  liquid.  More  stirring  than  this  is  ob- 
jectionable. A  copper  or  porcelain  saucepan  or  earthen 
crock  is  preferable  for  cooking  this  dish,  on  account  of  less 
danger  from  burning.  The  wheat  cooked  in  a  double 
kettle  will  not  be  as  good,  the  steam  puffing  through 
the  grains  giving  better  flavor.  There  is  no  danger  of 
burning  if  not  cooked  too  fast.  The  milk  used  should 
be  perfectly  fresh  and  sweet,  or  the  mixture  w^ill  curdle. 

When  done,  stir  it  carefully,  as  it  will  be  thin  and 
the  grains  will  be  liable  to  sink,  and  pour  it  into  cups 
(previously  wet  w^ith  cold  water)  about  three  fourths 
full.  Set  them  one  side  to  become  cold  and  solid. 
Do  not  remove  the  wheat  from  the  moulds  until  read}^ 
to  serve.  Serve  with  cream  or  milk  and  pulverized 
sugar. 

Oatmeal  Porridge. 

It  seems  very  simple  to  make  oatmeal  porridge,  yet 
it  is  a  very  different  dish  made  by  different  cooks. 
The  ingredients  are :  one  even  cupful  (one  half  pint) 
of  oatmeal  to  one  quart  of  boiling  water,  and  one  tea- 
spoonful  of  salt.     Boil  fort3^-five  minutes. 

The  water  should  be  salted  and  boiling  when  the 
meal  is  sprinkled  in  with  one  hand  while  it  is  lightly 


EAKTHEN  CROCK. 


Oatmeal  Porridge. — Cornmeal  Mush.        129 

stirred  witli  the  other.  When  all  mixed  it  should  boil 
slowly,  uncovered  or  partly  uncovered,  without  after- 
wards being  stirred  more  than  is  necessary  to  keep  it 
from  adhering  to  the  bottom,  and  to  mingle  the  grains 
two  or  three  times  that  they  may  all  be  evenly  cooked. 
If  much  stirred  the  por- 
ridge will  be  starchy  or 
waxy  and  poor  in  fla- 
vor. The  puffing  of ' 
the  steam  through  the 
grains  without  much 
stirring  swells  each  one 
separately,  and  wlien 
done  the  porridge  is 
light  and  palatable.  Professional  cooks  insist  upon  hav- 
ing copper  saucepans  for  cooking  the  grains,  for  the 
good  reason  that  there  is  but  little  danger  of  burning 
in  them.  A  common  earthen  crock  placed  on  top  the 
range  answers  the  purpose  very  well.  Care  must  be 
taken  that  a  cold  crock  should  not  suddenly  be  placed 
on  a  very  hot  surface.  Pour  hot  water  in  the  crock 
before  placing  it  on  the  range,  and  there  will  be  little 
danger  of  breaking.  This  manner  of  cooking  is  ap- 
plicable to  all  the  grains. 

CoENMEAL  Mush. 
This  may  be  made  by  stirring,  say,  a  pint  of  corn- 
meal  into  three  pints  of  salted  boiling  water,  and  cook- 
ing it  a  good  half-hour.  Or,  stir  a  pint  of  cornmeal, 
mixed  with  a  pint  of  milk  and  a  teaspoonful  of  salt, 
into  a  quart  of  boiling  water,  and  let  it  boil  half  an 
hour,  stirring  often. 


RECEIPTS   FOR   GLUTEN. 

I  FIND  it  a  little  difficult  to  provide  very  palatable 
dishes  out  of  gluten,  without  starch.  Added  to  rice, 
farina,  and  other  starch  grains,  which  are  prohibited  in 
some  diseases,  it  is  very  palatable  raade  into  pancakes, 
or  any  of  the  puddings  made  of  other  grains.  For 
thickening  sauces,  soups,  or  gravies,  it  is  very  satisfac- 
tory. Gluten  used  instead  of  bread-crumbs  for  egg  and 
crumbing  fish  slices  or  fillets,  oysters,  sweetbreads,  etc. 
(for  frying),  is  also  a  success. 

Gluten  Bkead. 

Ingredients :  one  pint  of  milk ;  one  pint  of  warm 
water ;  butter  or  lard  size  of  a  walnut ;  one  half  cake 
of  any  fresh,  dry  hop  yeast,  or  one  fifth  of  a  two-cent 
cake  of  compressed  yeast,  rubbed  smooth  with  a  little 
water ;  one  egg,  well  beaten  ;  a  little  salt. 

Mix  the  milk,  water,  egg,  yeast,  and  lard  (melted),  and 
stir  in  the  gluten  until  a  soft  batter  is  formed.  After 
it  has  risen  (in  some  warm  place)  mix  in  gluten  enough 
to  form  a  soft  dough  (like  biscuits),  and  knead  well. 
Form  into  loaves,  and,  when  risen  a  second  time,  bake. 
Gluten  bread  requires  less  yeast  than  ordinary  bread, 
and  less  time  in  rising. 

Gluten  Mush. 
Place  one  and  a  half  cupfuls  of  water  on  the  fire  to 
boil.     Stir  smoothly  either  a  cupful  of  cold  milk  or 
water  into  a  cupful  of  gluten,  and  a  half  -  teaspoonful 


Fried  Mush. — Gluten  Muffins^  etc.  131 

of  salt.     When  the  water  boils,  pour  in  the  mixture 
gradually  and  let  it  cook  twenty  minutes. 

Feied  Mush. 

Slices  of  cold  gluten  mush  fried  or  sauted  in  a  little 
hot  lard. 

Gluten  Muffins. 

Ingredients :  one  cupful  and  a  half  of  gluten;  one  cup- 
ful of  milk ;  one  egg  ;  one-fourth  teaspoonf ul  of  salt ; 
one  teaspoonful  of  baking-powder. 

Heat  the  gem  pans  before  buttering,  pour  in  the  bat- 
ter, and  bake  fifteen  minutes  in  a  quick  oven. 

This  quantity  will  make  eight  gems,  or  just  fill  one 
of  the  ordinary  iron  gem  pans.  Or,  the  flavor  is  better 
to  add  rice  as  follows : 

Gluten  and  Eice  Muffins  (not  for  diabetics). 

Ingredients :  one  cupful  of  gluten ;  one  cupful  and 
a  half  of  cold,  boiled  rice ;  one  cupful  of  milk ;  one  egg ; 
one  half  teaspoonful  of  salt ;  butter  size  of  hickory-nut ; 
two  teaspoonfuls  of  baking-powder. 

Mix  the  baking-powder,  salt,  and  gluten  well  togeth- 
er. Pass  the  rice  through  a  colander,  and  stir  into  it 
the  milk,  egg^  and  butter  (melted) ;  next  add  the  gluten 
mixture,  and  put  it  quickly  into  the  oven.  Or,  instead 
of  rice,  the  same  quantity  of  cold,  boiled  pearled  barley, 
or  oatmeal  may  be  substituted;  or  three  fourths  of  a 
cupful  of  cornmeal  and  one  cupful  of  gluten,  with  the 
other  ingredients  in  the  preceding  receipt,  make  good 
breakfast  muffins. 

A  Gluten  Pudding  or  Gruel. 
Ingredients:  one  cupful  of  water;  two  tablespoon- 
fuls  of  gluten,  rubbed  smooth  in  four  tablespoonfuls  of 
cold  water ;  the  white  of  one  Qgg ;  salt. 


132  Becevpts  for  Gluten. 

When  the  cupful  or  half-pint  of  water  is  salted  and 
boiling,  mix  in  the  gluten  paste  and  let  it  cook  ten  min- 
utes ;  stir  in  then  the  white  of  an  Qgg  beaten  to  a  stiff 
froth.  Let  it  remain  a  half-minute  (while  stirring  it) 
to  set  the  Ggg.  To  be  eaten  hot,  and  fresh  made.  Or, 
instead  of  four  tablespoonfuls  of  cold  water  for  making 
the  gluten  paste,  let  it  be  four  tablespoonfuls  of  cream, 
and  the  pudding  can  be  sweetened  with  a  scant  table- 
spoonful  of  glycerine. 

Gluten  Pudding. 
Soak  two  slices  of  gluten  bread  in  a  little  milk  in 
which  an  Qgg^  a  tablespoonf ul  of  glycerine,  and  a  sprink- 
ling of  nutmeg  have  been  mixed.  Do  not  let  the  bread 
get  too  soft  to  handle.  Fry  the  slices  on  a  griddle  in 
either  a  little  hot  lard  or  butter. 

Gluten  Cream  Wafers. 
Stir  gluten  (crude  or  purified)  and  a  little  salt  into 
sweet  cream,  until  the  dough  is  thick  enough  to  roll  out 
to  the  thickness  of  pasteboard.  Beat  the  dough  with  a 
potato -masher  for  fifteen  minutes  or  more,  roll  out, 
cut  into  forms,  and  bake. 

Gluten  Cheese  Cakes. 
Add  to  a  cupful  of  gluten  three  tablespoonfuls  of 
grated  cheese,  two  tablespoonfuls  of  cream,  the  yolks 
of  two  eggs,  a  saltspoonful  of  salt,  and  a  little  nutmeg. 
Roll  thin  and  bake  like  cookies. 

Gluten  Souffle. 
To  a  half  cupful  of  gluten  add  two  tablespoonfuls  of 
grated  cheese,  the  beaten  yolk  of  an  Qgg^  half  a  salt- 
spoonful  of  salt,  and  three  tablespoonfuls  of   cream. 
Mix  this  evenly  together,  forming  a  soft  paste  a  little 


Gluten  Souffle.  133 

thicker  than  for  pancakes.  The  last  thing  stir  in  the 
whites  of  the  eggs  beaten  to  a  stiff  froth.  Bake  in  patty 
pans,  or  paper  cases,  and  serve  as  soon  as  baked.  It  is 
a  very  rich  dish,  too  rich  for  much  to  be  eaten  at  one 
time. 


VEGETABLES. 

A  Baked  Potato. 
A  Potato  baked,  when  properly  prepared,  is  proba- 
bly the  most  digestible  form  in  which  it  can  be  served. 
The  excellence  of  a  baked  potato  depends  much  upon 
its  being  served  hnmediately  when  cooked  to  a  turn. 
A  moment  underdone  and  it  is  indigestible  and  worth- 
less ;  a  moment  overdone  and  it  has  begun  to  dry.  It 
requires  about  an  hour  to  bake  a  large  potato  in  a  hot 
oven.  When  served  and  mashed,  the  addition  of  some 
cream  and  a  little  salt  is  most  excellent. 

To  Boil  Potatoes. 

Choose  those  of  equal  size.  Take  off  a  very  thin 
peeling,  as  the  best  of  the  potato  lies  nearest  the  skin. 
Put  them  into  enough  well-salted  cold  water  to  cover 
them ;  let  them  boil  till  thoroughly  done,  and  do  not 
let  them  remain  a  moment  longer.  Drain  off  the  water, 
cover  them  closely,  and  set  the  vessel  at  the  side  of  the 
fire,  to  allow  them  to  steam  for  several  minutes.  A 
point  is  made  in  keeping  the  potatoes  covered  while 
steaming,  for  the  purpose  of  retaining  heat  enough  to 
draw  out  the  moisture.  The  escaping  moisture,  though 
covered,  will  not  return  to  the  potatoes.  Sprinkle  over 
some  salt  as  soon  as  they  are  fully  steamed.  It  requires 
about  thirty-five  minutes  to  boil  medium-sized  potatoes. 

A  copper  saucepan,  or  an  iron  pot  retaining  an  even 
heat,  should  be  used  for  boiling  potatoes — never  a  tin 
saucepan. 


Potatoes. — Spinach  Dish.  135 

Potatoes  {d  la  creme,  very  good). 

Cut  cold,  boiled  potatoes  into  little  square  bits  or  dice, 
say  a  third  of  an  inch  square;  mix  them  with  enough 
white  sauce  to  moisten  them,  made  as  follows : 

Place  a  tablespoonful  of  butter  in  a  small  saucepan, 
and  when  it  bubbles  throw  in  a  tablespoonful  of  flour ; 
cook  it  a  minute  without  coloring,  then  add  a  pint  of 
milk  or  half  milk  and  half  cream,  season  with  a  level 
teaspoonful  of  salt,  a  pinch  of  pepper,  and  a  little  nut- 
meg. This  will  make  a  pint  of  cream  sauce,  and  will 
be  sufficient  for  a  quart  of  potatoes. 

Place  a  little  butter  or  drippings  in  a  frying-pan  (or 
saute  pan),  and,  when  hot,  put  in  the  moistened  pota- 
toes, color  them  on  one  side,  loosen  them  from  the  pan 
with  a  pancake-turner,  turn  them  like  an  omelet  on  a 
platter,  and  serve. 

Potatoes  {d  la  creme,  au  grath}). 
Delmonico  serves  potatoes  as  prepared  in  the  preced- 
ing receipt,  and  instead  of  sauteing  (or  frying)  them,  they 
are  placed  in  a  basin  or  pudding-disli  sprinkled  over  with 
cracker-dust  and  a  little  grated  cheese,  and  then  they  are 
colored  in  the  oven.  It  is  perhaps  better  after  they 
are  thoroughly  heated  in  the  oven  to  color  them  with  a 
salamander  or  hot  shovel,  leaving  no  chance  for  the  po- 
tatoes to  become  dry  by  too  long  a  process  of  heating. 

A  Pketty  Spinach  Dish. 
In  picking  over  the  spinach  separate  the  thick  stalks 
from  the  leaves.  A  bright  green  color  is  given  to  it  by 
throwing  it  into  plenty  of  well-salted  water,  when  it  is 
boiling  very  fast.  It  should  be  taken  out  the  moment 
it  is  soft,  for  allowing  it  to  remain  too  long  would  im- 
pair its  color.     Drain  it  well,  and  do  as  you  please  about 


136  Vegetables. 

putting  it  tlirougli  a  colander.  Just  before  serving 
reheat  it  on  the  top  of  the  range,  adding  a  little  but- 
ter, pepper,  and  salt. 
Serve  enough  for  one 
person  on  a  little 
square  piece  of  toast, 
flatten  the  top,  and 
decorate  it  with  some 
finely  chopped  hard- 
boiled  egg^  the  yolk  thickly  sprinkled  in  the  centre 
and  a  circle  of  white  around.  This  will  resemble  a 
sunflower. 

Beets  oe  Caeeots  {cl  la  creme). 
Boiled  beets  or  carrots,  sliced,  are  mixed  in  cream 
sauce  as  described  for  potatoes  d  la  creme,  excepting,  in 
the  place  of  nutmeg,  a  tablespoonful  of  finely  minced 
parsley  is  added.  The  appearance  of  the  vegetables  is 
improved  by  cutting  them  with  fancy  vegetable  cutters. 
There  must  not  be  too  much  sauce,  only  a  soft  coating 
around  each  slice  of  beet  or  carrot. 

Cauliflowee  {a  la  crhne). 

The  boiled  cauliflower,  cut  into  flowerets,  is  mixed 
with  cream  sauce  as  described  for  potatoes  gl  la  creme, 
and,  when  placed  in  a  dish  for  serving,  the  top  is  sprinkled 
over  with  rather  coarse  bread  crumbs,  which  have  been 
colored  {sauted)  in  a  little  butter. 

Sometimes  the  top  is  sprinkled  with  sifted  cracker 
crumbs  and  grated  cheese,  and  is  then  colored  with  a 
red-hot  sliovel.  Served  in  shells  or  paper  cases  the  dish 
is  especially  attractive.  Sometimes  the  sauce  is  finished 
by  stirring  in  the  beaten  white  of  an  Qgg  just  before  it 
is  taken  from  the  fire.  It  makes  also  a  good  sauce  for 
asparagus. 


Stuffed  Tomatoes. — Brown  Sauce.  137 

Stuffed  Tomatoes  (Chef  Cuppinger). 

For  eight  tomatoes  make  a  stuffing  as  follows :  In- 
gredients— Butter,  size  of  an  Qgg\  half  an  onion,  cut 
fine;  three  fourths  of  a  cupful  of  either  chicken  livers 
or  cold,  cooked  chicken  or  meat  of  any  kind,  chopped 
iine;  three  sprigs  of  parsley,  chopped  fine;  one  and 
a  half  cupfuls  of  bread  crumbs,  after  they  have  been 
soaked  in  water  and  squeezed  dry  by  wringing  in  a  clean 
towel ;  one  large  tomato,  cut  fine ;  one  egg ;  half  a  salt- 
spoonful  of  thyme;  a  pinch  of  cayenne  pepper;  salt. 

Place  the  butter  in  a  saucepan,  and  when  it  bubbles 
add  the  minced  onion.  When  it  has  colored  slightly 
add  the  meat,  bread  crumbs,  and  all  the  other  ingre- 
dients. 

Fill  the  tomatoes  (with  the  tops  cut  off  and  interior 
partly  removed)  with  this  mixture,  letting  it  rise  from  a 
half  of  an  inch  to  an  inch  above  the  tomato. 

Place  the  stuffed  tomatoes  in  a  little  baking-pan, 
sprinkle  cracker  crumbs  over  the  tops,  also  a  bit  of  but- 
ter over  each  one.  Bake  them  in  the  oven  about  fifteen 
or  twenty  minutes. 

It  should  be  served  with  a  brown  sauce  made  as  fol- 
lows : 

Brown  Sauce. 

This  is  made  with  but  little  trouble,  although  there 
are  many  kinds  of  brown  sauces. 

In  a  small  saucepan  place  butter  the  size  of  a  walnut, 
anii  when  it  bubbles  throw  in  a  tablespoonful  of  minced 
onion  ;  when  beginning  to  color  add  a  tablespoonful  of 
flour,  which  allow  to  color  also.  Now  add  one  and  a 
half  or  two  cupfuls  of  stock  if  you  have  it,  and,  if  not, 
water,  and  two  or  three  sprigs  of  parsley.  Let  it  cook  a 
couple  of  minutes,  season  with  a  little  pepper  and  salt, 


138  Vegetables, 

pass  it  through  the  gravj-strainer,  and  add  one  or  two 
tablespoonfuls  of  ahnost  any  kind  of  wine — sherry  being 
generally  used. 

Stuffed  Peppers. 

This  is  an  especially  nice  dish  of  Chef  Cuppinger's. 
As  a  course  for  a  luncheon  or  dinner  it  may  be  better 
than  for  the  invalid.  Yet,  as  an  appetizer,  it  would  not 
be  unfit  sometimes  for  the  latter.  Use  the  green  or  red 
peppers  of  round  shape ;  cut  them  lengthwise,  and  re- 
move the  interior,  seeds  and  partitions;  cover  them 
with  cold  water  and  parboil  them  five  minutes.  Now 
proceed  with  them  as  for  stuffed  tomatoes,  serving  them 
also  with  the  brown  sauce. 

Care  must  be  taken  not  to  have  too  much  cayenne 
pepper  in  the  stuffing  for  the  peppers.  None  at  all 
is  really  needed. 


LITTLE  DISHES. 

Boiled  Eggs. 
Eggs  are  generally  boiled  by  placing  them  in  boiling 
water,  and  boiling  them  two  and  three  quarter  min- 
utes. It  is  better  to  put  the  eggs  in  a  saucepan  of  cold 
water,  half  a  pint  to  each  Qgg.  Set  it  over  a  fire  hot 
enough  to  make  the  water  boil  in  three  or  four  min- 
utes. As  soon  as  the  water  boils,  remove  the  saucepan 
from  the  fire  and  let  the  eggs  remain  in  the  water 
one  minute. 

Poached  Eggs. 
This  is  probably  the  best  mode  of  serving  them  for 
an  invalid,  unless  served  uncooked,  as  described  in  the 
succeeding  receipt. 


Poached  eggs  are  generally  wretchedly  cooked  by 
non-professional  cooks.  They  are  either  thrown  into 
rapidly  boiling  water  and  torn  into  pieces,  or  are  over- 
done. If  overdone  they  are  indigestible.  The  albumen 
or  white  of  the  egg  shrinks  and  becomes  hard  and 


140  Little  Dishes. 

tough  if  overcooked — indeed,  it  forms  a  cement  when 
heated  above  a  certain  point. 

The  white  of  the  Qgg,  to  be  properly  poached,  should 
be  white,  but  of  a  soft,  transparent,  jelly-like  substance. 
It  should  be  tender  and  delicate,  evenly  cooked  through- 
out, no  part  being  hard  while  another  is  semi-raw.  To 
prepare  it  in  this  manner  the  water  in  which  it  is 
cooked  should  not  reach  the  boiling-point. 

The  easiest  way  is  to  slip  the  Qgg  (previously  broken 
into  a  saucer)  carefully  into  salted  water  which  is  sim- 
mering. Then  immediately  set  the  saucepan  at  tlie 
side  of  the  range  (to  prevent  the  water  from  boiling) 
and  let  the  egg  remain  about  ten  minutes.* 

Let  the  w^ater  be  about  two  inches  high  in  a  low 
saucepan.  Eacli  Qgg  should  be  broken  separately  into  a 
saucer  and  slipped  very  carefully  into  the  water.  Wlien 
cooked  just  enough  take  out  the  egg  \\\t\\  a  perforated 
ladle  (there  should  be  nothing  to  trim),  and  sh'p  it  on  a 
thin,  buttered,  and  slightly  salted  square  piece  of  toast 
which  has  previously  been  partly  moistened  by  pouring 
a  little  boiling  water  in  the  bottom  of  the  platter,  and 
allowing  the  toast  to  soak  it.  As  soon  as  cooked, 
sprinkle  salt  and  a  little  pepper  over  the  egg  tops.  Any 
substance  absorbs  more  readily  the  flavor  of  seasoning 
w^hen  it  is  hot  rather  than  when  lukewarm  or  cold. 

Poaclied  eggs  are  very  good  introduced  into  beef 
broth.  Delmonico  serves  poached  eggs  on  toast  with 
sorrel  sprinkled  over  the  tops.  Fine  water-cresses  make 
a  pretty  garnish. 


*  W.  Matthieu  Williams  in  "The  Chemistry  of  Cooking"  says  the  per- 
fection of  egg-poaching  is  to  keep  the  egg  in  svater  at  the  temperature  of 
160°  for  half  an  hour. 


A  Raw  Egg. — A  Beefsteak, 


141 


A  Eaw  Egg. 

This  is  an  invaluable  preparation 
for  an  invalid. 

Beat  well  the  yolk,  together  with 
a  teaspoon  fill  of  sugar  in  a  goblet ; 
then  stir  in  one  or  two  teaspoonfnls 
of  brandy,  sherry,  or  port  wine ;  add 
to  this  mixture  the  white  of  the  ^^^^ 
beaten  to  a  stiff  froth.  If  properly 
beaten  it  should  fill  a  goblet  to  over- 
flowing. Carefully  stir  altogether. 
If  wine  is  not  desired,  flavor  the  q^^ 
with  nutmeg.  It  is  very  palatable 
without  flavoring  at  all,  using  only 
the  sugar. 

A  Beefsteak. 
For  our  invalid,  cut  out  the  tender  part  of  the  beef 
from  the  porterhouse  or  tenderloin  steak.  Let  it  be 
three  quarters  of  an  inch  thick.  Do  not  pound  it.  A 
well-shaped  piece  cut  from  the  round  or  sirloin  steak 
is  not  to  be  despised,  as  it  contains  more  juice  than 
the  tenderloin.  A  cut  from  a  round  steak  sliould  not 
be  as  thick  as  a  tenderloin  cut,  and,  if  tough,  can  be 
pounded  a  little.  Have  the  gridiron  quite  hot  and  well 
greased  with  pork  or  beef  suet.  Put  on  the  steak  over 
a  hot,  clear  fire,  and  cover  it  with  a  baking-pan.  A 
wood  or  charcoal  fire  is  preferable  to  hard  coal  for  broil- 
ing anything.  In  a  few  moments,  when  the  steak  is 
colored,  turn  it  over;  watch  it  constantly,  turning  it 
when  it  gets  a  little  brown.  Do  not  stick  a  fork  into  it, 
as  that  will  let  out  the  juice,  and  do  not  place  anything 
over  it  which  can  touch  the  top,  as  that  will  prevent  the 
steak  from  swelling.     Do  not  put  on  the  pepper  and 


142  Little  Uishes. 


salt  before  the  steak  is  cooked,  as  it  is  calculated  to 
harden  the  fibres.  If  the  steak  is  very  thick,  either  tlie 
fire  must  not  be  too  brisk  or  it  should  be  turned  very 
often.  However,  the  quicker  any  article  to  be  broiled 
is  cooked,  the  better.  When  cooked  enough  (from  five 
to  ten  minutes),  it  should  be  rare  or  pink  in  the  centre, 
though  not  raw.  Place  it  on  a  hot  platter,  sprinkle 
it  with  pepper  and  salt,  and  spread  over  some  sweet, 
fresh  butter;  set  the  platter  in  the  oven  for  a  few 
moments  to  let  the  butter  soak  a  little  in  the  steak, 
then  serve  immediately.  A  steak  is  much  improved 
by  a  simple  addition  called  a  la  maitre  d* hotel,  as  fol- 
lows : 

When  the  steak  is  cooked  and  placed  on  a  hot  platter 
it  receives  first  a  sprinkling  of  pepper  and  salt.  Then 
comes  a  sprinkling  of  very  finely  minced  parsley,  then 
some  drops  of  lemon  juice,  lastly  small  pieces  of  butter 
are  carefully  spread  over.  The  steak  is  then  placed  in 
the  oven  for  a  few  moments  for  the  butter  to  become 
melted  and  soaked  into  it. 

If  an  invalid  can  eat  a  beefsteak  he  can  generally  eat 
some  one  vegetable  with  it,  and  to  make  the  little  plump, 
tender  morsel  of  beef  look  more  tempting,  garnish  it 
with  a  vegetable. 

If  with  potatoes,  bake  one  or  two  equal-sized  pota- 
toes to  a  turn  ;  when  quite  hot  remove  the  inside,  mash 
perfectly  smooth,  season  with  butter,  or,  what  is  better, 
cream  and  salt,  and  press  it  through  a  colander.  It  will 
look  like  vermicelli.  Place  it  in  a  circle  around  the 
steak,  or  in  banks  on  each  side.     Other  vegetables,  if 


A  Beefsteak.  14:3 

allowed,  as  pease,  string-beans,  green  corn,  etc.,  can  be 
served  in  the  same  manner. 

A  tomato  sauce  (page  155)  is  a  most  excellent  accom- 
paniment for  a  beefsteak. 

A  beefsteak  is  always  more  attractive  garnished  with 
parsley,  or  any  kind  of  leaves,  and  slices  of  lemon. 

Chopped  Beefsteak. 

From  Miss  Juliet  Corson's  very  valuable  receipts  for 
the  sick,  published  in  Harper's  Bazar : 

"  Trim  the  fat  from  a  pound  of  round  or  sirloin  steak, 
cut  the  meat  in  inch  pieces,  put  it  into  a  meat  chopper 
or  mincing-machine,  and  chop  it  for  five  minutes;  then 
take  from  the  top  of  the  meat  the  fine  pulp  which  rises 
during  the  operation  of  chopping ;  continue  to  chop 
and  to  remove  the  pulp  until  only  the  fibre  of  the  meat 
remains.  Press  the  pulp  into  a  round  fiat  cake,  and 
broil  it  over  a  very  hot  fire  for  about  five  minutes  on 
each  side ;  season  it  lightly  with  salt  and  Cayenne  pep- 
per, and  a  little  butter,  and  serve  it  hot.* 

In  selecting  beefsteak  for  invalids  some  persons  choose 
i\\Q filet,  or  tenderloin,  because  it  seems  most  tender;  it 
is  hardly  more  digestible  on  that  account,  for  its  loose- 
ness of  fibre  does  not  favor  complete  mastication  ;  and 
it  is  less  nutritious  than  sirloin  or  round  steaks,  because 
its  muscular  tissue  is  not  so  well  nourished  as  that  of 
the  last-named  cuts.  Beef  for  the  use  of  invalids  should 
either  be  broiled  quickly  over  a  very  hot  fire,  and  light- 
ly seasoned  with  salt  and  Cayenne  pepper,  roasted  at  an 
open  fire,  or  baked  in  a  \qvj  hot  oven  without  any  wa- 
ter in  the  pan  ;  if  the  inside  of  beef  is  purple,  it  is  not 
sufiiciently  cooked  to  be  easily  digested ;  the  color  of 

*  This  steak  is  often  served  almost  entirely  uncooked.  The  pulp  is 
slightly  seasoned  before  it  is  formed  into  cakes,  then  merely  heated 
through,  although  colored  a  light  brown  on  the  outside. 


144  Little  Dishes, 

properly  cooked  beef  is  pinkish-red.    The  inner  cuts  are 
the  most  digestible." 

Beef  Sandwich. 
Scrape  very  fine  two  or  three  tablespoonfuls  of  fresli, 
juicy,  tender,  uncooked  beef;  season  it  sliglitly  with 
pepper  and  salt ;  spread  it  between  two  thin  slices  of 
slightly  buttered  bread,  cut  it  neatly  into  little  dia- 
monds and  serve. 

A  Yenison  Steak. 
A  venison  steak  should  be  cooked  in  the  same  man- 
ner as  a  beefsteak.     A  little  melted  currant  jelly  is  a 
___,..,___^__  pleasant  addition. 

^^         '^■-^^^■^^y^    ^^    ^s    sometimes 

__  J^fe^^^    made  in  the  form 
'^^S^^J"^^^^  of  a  sauce  by  di- 

luting the  jelly 
with  a  little  water,  and  thickening  it  with  a  little  corn- 
starch or  flour. 

A  Mutton  Chop. 

A  cut  from  the  loin  is  best.  One  containing  a  large 
tenderloin  could  be  chosen  for  our  invalid.  Let  it  be 
cut  thick  and  leave  on  it  plenty  of  the  fat.  Broil  as 
described  for  beefsteak.  Serve  with  mashed  potatoes 
or  other  vegetables,  and  decorate  it  artisticall3^ 

Breast  of  Chicken. 
For  an  invalid  a  chicken  fricassee  or  a  tender  bit  of 
boiled  chicken  is  most  desirable.  A  breast  of  a  tender 
chicken,  seasoned  and  rubbed  with  butter,  and  thrown  on 
some  burning  charcoals  which  are  not  too  hot,  is  very  sa- 
vorj'.  If  skilfully  cooked  the  surface  will  be  very  little 
charred,  and  the  inside  will  be  very  tender  and  juicy. 
When  done,  season  again  with  butter,  pepper,  and  salt. 


A  Fricassee  of  Chicken^  etc.  145 

Or  another  mode  of  cooking  a  breast  of  a  spring 
chicken  is  to  stick  the  leg  bone  into  the  end,  giving  it 
the  form  of  a  cutlet,  rub  it  with  butter,  and  broil  it  care- 
fully. The  second  joint  of  a  leg  of  a  chicken  contains 
more  juice,  and  has  more  flavor  than  the  breast. 

A  Feicassee  of  Chicken. 
Cut  two  chickens  into  pieces.  Reserve  all  the  white 
meat  and  the  best  pieces ;  the  remainder  use  to  make 
the  gravy.  Put  the  latter  pieces  into  a  porcelain  ket- 
tle with  a  quart  of  cold  water,  one  clove,  pepper,  salt,  a 
small  onion,  a  little  bunch  of  parsley,  and  a  small  piece 
of  pork ;  let  it  simmer  for  half  an  hour,  and  then  throw 
in  the  pieces  for  the  fricassee  ;  let  them  boil  slowly  un- 
til they  are  quite  done,  take  them  out  then,  and  keep 
them  in  a  hot  place.  Now  strain  the  gravy,  take  off 
all  the  fat,  and  add  it  to  a  roux  of  half  a  cupful  of 
flour,  and  a  small  piece  of  butter.  Let  this  boil  a  few 
moments,  then  take  it  off  the  fire  and  stir  in  three 
yolks  of  eggs,  mixed  with  two  or  three  tablespoon- 
fuls  of  cream,  also  the  juice  of  half  a  lemon.  Do  not 
let  it  boil  after  the  eggs  are  in  or  they  will  curdle. 
Stir  it  well,  keeping  it  hot  a  moment;  then  pour 
it  over  the  chicken  and  serve.  Some  of  the  fricassees 
with  long  and  formidable  names  are  not  much  more 
than  wine  or  mushrooms,  or  both,  added  to  this  re- 
ceipt. 

Chicken  Croquettes  (Philadelphia  Cooking  School). 

To  every  pint  of  cold  cooked  chicken,  chopped  very, 
very  fine,  allow  half  a  pint  of  cream  or  milk,  one  table- 
spoonful  of  butter,  two  tablespoonf  uls  of  flour,  one  table- 
spoonful  each  of  parsley  and  onion,  chopped  also  very 
fine,  a  little  nutmeg,  salt,  and  Cayenne  pepper  to  taste. 

Place  the  butter  in  a  saucepan,  and  when  it  bubbles 
7 


146  Little  Dishes. 

throw  in  the  onion,  parsley,  and  flour,  and  let  them  cook 
a  minute  without  taking  color;  then  pour  in  the  milk, 

stirring  it  well  with 
"^^  an  Qgg  whisk  nntil 

the  mixture  is  quite 
even  and  smooth. 
Let  it  boil  anoth- 
er minute  to  thor- 
oughly cook  the  flour,  then  stir  in  the  chicken  pulp  and 
seasoning.  When  cool,  foam  into  croquettes,  roll  in 
beaten  egg  and  sifted  cracker  crumbs,  and  fry  by  immer- 
sion in  boiling  lard.  The  paste  will  be  rather  soft  to 
handle,  but  a  cook  can  easily  manage  it  w^ith  a  little 
practice.  Of  course,  the  softer  the  paste,  the  more 
cream}^  and  soft  will  be  the  croquettes  when  cooked. 

Croquettes  are  very  good  made  with  finely  minced 
cold  roast  veal  (not  boiled)  instead  of  chicken.  They 
imitate  the  chicken  croquettes  in  flavor. 

Or,  they  can  be  made  of  cold  roast  beef,  roast  lamb, 
mutton,  cold  cooked  sweetbreads,  cold  fish,  etc.,  instead 
of  chicken.  In  case  sweetbreads  are  used  they  are  cut 
into  dice  rather  than  minced. 

Chicken  croquettes  are  much  improved  when  served 
with  a  sauce,  either  brown,  white,  or  tomato  sauce. 
They  are  sometimes  served  with  pease,  etc. 

Chicken  with  Macaeoni,  ok  with  Eice. 
Cut  the  chicken  into  pieces ;  fry  or  saute  them  in  a 
little  hot  drippings,  or  in  butter  the  size  of  an  egg ; 
when  nearly  done  put  the  pieces  into  another  saucepan  ; 
add  a  heaping  teaspoonful  of  flour  to  the  hot  drippings, 
and  brown  it.  Mix  a  little  cold  or  lukewarm  water  to 
the  Toux  ;  when  smooth  add  a  quart  or  more  of  boiling 
water.  Pour  this  over  the  chicken  in  the  saucepan,  add 
a  chopped  sprig  of  parsley,  a  couple  of  slices  of  onion, 


Boiled  Chicken. — Fried  Chicken.  147 

pepper,  and  salt.  Let  the  chicken  boil  half  or  three 
quarters  of  an  hour,  or  until  it  is  thoroughly  done  ;  then 
take  out  the  pieces  of  chicken.  Pass  the  sauce  through 
a  sieve,  and  remove  all  the  fat.  Have  ready  some  maca- 
roni which  has  been  boiled  in  salted  water,  and  let  it  come 
to  a  boil  in  this  sauce.  Arrange  the  pieces  of  chicken 
tastefully  on  a  dish,  pour  the  macaroni  and  sauce  over 
them,  and  serve.  Or,  instead  of  macaroni,  use  boiled  rice, 
which  may  be  managed  in  the  same  way  as  the  macaroni. 

Plain  Boiled  Chicken. 
Throw  the  chicken,  cut  into  pieces,  in  plenty  of  boiling 
water  (enough  to  have  some  left,  after  the  boiling  is  over, 
for  sauce).  Boil  slowly  until  the  chicken  is  very  ten- 
der, if  it  takes  all  da}^  Thicken  the  gravy  with  flour, 
first  rubbed  smooth  with  a  little  cold  water.  Season 
with  pepper  and  salt.  A  potpie  addition  is  generally 
made  to  this  dish. 

Fried  Spring  Chicken. 

The  excellence  of  spring  chickens  depends  as  much 

on  feeding  as  on  cooking  them.     All  chickens  should 

be  drawn   as  soon  as  killed,  and  are  better  if  killed 

a  day  before  cooking.     Do  not  wash  them.     Several 


hours  before  cooking  the  chicken,  dismember  it,  and 
dip  each  piece  hastily  in  a  bowl  of  water ;  spread  them 
on  the  table,  sprinkle  pepper  and  salt  over  all,  then  turn 
and  season  also  the  other  side.  KoU  each  piece  sepa- 
rately, while  still  wet,  in  a  plate  of  flour.     When  ready 


148  Little  Dishes. 

to  cook  have  two  or  three  spoonfuls  of  lard  in  a  saute 
pan  or  spider  quite  hot,  in  which  fry,  or,  rather,  saute,  the 
chickens,  covering  them  and  watching  that  they  may 
not  burn.  The  quicker  they  are  cooked  without  scorch- 
ing the  better.  When  done  arrange  them  on  a  hot  dish, 
pour  out  the  lard  from  the  spider,  leaving  what  will 
stick  at  the  bottom.  Pour  in  one  or  two  cupfuls  of 
milk,  thicken  it  with  a  little  flour  (rubbed  smooth  with 
a  little  cold  milk),  season  with  pepper  and  salt,  pass  it 
through  the  gravy  strainer,  pour  it  over  the  chicken. 
Minced  parsley  is  often  added  to  the  gravy.  A  circle 
of  boiled  rice  or  cauliflower  around  the  chicken  with 
the  white  sauce  poured  over  both  is  very  nice.  Deco- 
rate with  parsley. 

Chicken  Souffle. 
Chop  half  a  pound  of  cold  cooked  chicken  (freed  from 
skin  and  bone)  fine  as  possible ;  pound  it  in  the  chop- 
ping-bowl,  or,  better,  in  a  mortar;  then  rub  it  through  a 
sieve  with  the  edge  of  a  large  spoon.     The  white  meat, 
although  it  has  not  the  flavor  of 
the  dark  meat,  is  better  suited  to 
this  purpose. 

Now  make  a  roux  in  a  saucepan 
'  as  follows :  Place  in  it  butter  size 
of  a  pigeon's  Qgg,  and  when  it  bub- 
bles stir  in,  with  an  egg  whisk,  a 
dessertspoonful  of  flour ;  when 
evenly  blended  stir  in  three  quar- 
ters of  a  cupful  of  hot  water,  and  let  it  cook  a  few  mo- 
ments, stirring  it  smoothly  together  with  the  Qgg  whisk ; 
then  stir  in  the  chicken  pulp,  and  season  it  palatably 
with  salt  and  a  little  red  pepper.  Let  the  paste  get 
entirely  cold  (covering  it  so  that  it  will  not  get  hard), 
then  mix  into  it  lightly,  first  the  yolks  of  two  eggs  beat- 


Prairie  Chicken, — Broiled  Fish.  149 

en  to  a  cream,  then  the  whites  of  three  eggs  beaten  to 
a  stiff  froth.  Put  it  immediately  into  little  paper  souffle 
cases,  or  silver  scallop  shells,  or  into  a  little  pudding 
dish.  Bake  about  fifteen  minutes  in  the  oven,  and  serve 
it  immediately  when  done. 

A  BlED 

Broiled,  as  described  for  beefsteak,  and  served  on  toast, 
is  good  for  an  invalid  who  is  very  well,  provided 
the  bird  is  quite  tender.  It  is  not  to  be  trusted  for  a 
genuine  invalid. 

Beeast  of  a  Pkairie  Chicken. 
The  breast  of  prairie  chicken  broiled  and  served  on 
toast  is  most  digestible  if  tender.  If  not  very  tender  it 
should  be  parboiled  before  broiling.  Sometimes  it  is 
boiled  with  a  little  onion  and  parsley  added  to  the  water, 
and  when  done  the  gravy  is  strained  and  freed  from  fat, 
thickened  with  a  roux  (flour  and  butter),  and  seasoned 
with  some  claret  or  sherry. 

Broiled  Fish. 
For  this  purpose  a  white  fish  from  the  lakes,  or  a 
bass  is  generally  used.  The  two  sides  of  the  fish  are 
spread  open  by  cutting  partly  through  the  back.  It  is 
seasoned  with  pepper  and  salt  and  sprinkled  well  with 
flour.  The  inside  of  the  fish  is  first  presented  to  the  fire 
on  a  gridiron,  well  greased  with  lard  or  a  piece  of  pork. 
As  the  fish  can  only  be  turned  once,  it  must  be  watched 
carefully  to  avoid  burning.  Before  turning,  loosen  the 
fish  carefully  from  the  gridiron  with  a  knife  or  pancake 
turner.  If  large,  place  a  platter  close  over  the  top,  and, 
turning  the  gridiron,  the  fish  is  left  in  the  platter,  when 
it  can  be  easily  slid  to  the  gridiron  again,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  cooking  the  other  side. 


150  Little  Dishes. 

When  cooked,  serve  the  inside  of  the  fish  uppermost 
on  the  platter,  sprinkle  over  pepper,  salt,  and  butter, 
minced  parsley,  and  a  little  lemon  juice.  Place  it  in  the 
oven  for  a  few  moments  to  soak  the  butter,  etc.  Gar- 
nish with  lemon  slices  and  parsley. 

Boiled  Fish 
Is  cooked  by  first  immersing  it  in  cold  salted  water. 
It  is  generally  served  with  a  drawn-butter  sauce,  with 
an  addition  of  chopped  hard-boiled  eggs,  or  minced  pars- 
ley, etc.  Sometimes  the  fish  is  cut  transversely  into 
pieces  about  an  inch  and  a  half  long  and  cooked  "  en 
inatelote^'^  as  follov»^s :  sprinkle  salt  on  them  and  let 
them  remain  w^hile  you  boil  two  or  three  onions  (sliced) 
in  a  little  water.  Pour  off  this  water  when  the  onions 
are  cooked,  and  add  to  them  a  little  pepper,  about  a  tea- 
cupful  of  hot  water,  and  a  teacupful  of  wine,  if  it  is 
claret  or  white  wine,  and  two  or  three  tablespoonfuls 
if  it  is  sherry  or  port ;  now  add  the  fish  ;  when  it  be- 
gins to  sinniier,  throw  in  some  bits  of  butter  which 
have  been  rolled  in  flour.  When  the  fish  is  thorough- 
ly cooked  (about  fifteen  minutes)  serve  it  very  hot. 
Stewed  fish  is  much  better  cooked  with  wine,  but  is 
very  good  without  it,  in  which  case  add  a  little  parsley. 
Decorate  the  dish  with  fancy  cuts  of  toasted  bread. 

Bass  a  l'Espagnole. 
Cut  a  bass  or  a  flounder  into  filets  as  follows:  Lay  the 
fish  on  the  table,  and  with  a  thin,  sharp-bladed  knife  cut 
down  to  the  bone  in  the  centre  of  tlie  fish,  following  the 
course  of  the  backbone,  from  the  head  to  the  tail.  Insert 
the  knife  in  the  cut  already  made  and  cnt  towards  the 
fin,  keeping  the  knife  pressed  close  against  the  bone,  tak- 
ing off  the  whole  side  piece,  or  filet  Take  care  not  to 
mangle  the  flesh.     Cut  off  all  four  of  the  side  pieces  of 


Sweetbreads.  151 

the  fish  in  the  same  way,  and  lay  them  with  the  skins 
downwards  on  the  table,  holding  the  end  of  ^  filet  with 
the  fingers  of  the  left  hand,  lay  the  blade  of  the  knife 
flat  on  the  table  between  the  skin  and  meat,  cutting 
from  you.  If  the  end  is  held  firmly,  the  knife  laid  flat, 
the  \v\\o\q  filet  can  be  cut  from  the  skin,  without  man- 
gling it. 

Broil  the  filets  on  an  oiled  gridiron,  over  a  moderate 
flre,  spreading  a  little  butter,  pepper,  and  salt  over  them 
as  they  are  cooking.  Lay  them  on  a  hot  dish  and  pour 
over  them  a  sauce  made  as  follows :  Fry  the  slices  of  a 
quarter  of  an  onion,  partly  coloring  them  in  a  little  hot 
butter ;  at  the  same  time  a  teaspoonf ul  of  flour  may  be 
thrown  in  to  receive  also  a  little  color.  Pour  in  now"  a 
cupful  of  stock  and  a  cupful  of  canned  tomatoes,  season 
with  cayenne  pepper  and  salt,  and  when  it  has  boiled  a 
couple  of  minutes,  to  become  slightly  thickened,  pour  it 
over  the  cooked  ^Z^i^^  w^ithout  straining.  Over  the  top 
of  the  dish  sprinkle  very  finely  minced  parsley.  Profes- 
sional cooks  sometimes  add,  also,  minced  mushrooms  to 
the  sauce. 

Sweetbreads. 
Professional  cooks  generally  soak  sweetbreads  for  an 
hour  in  cold  water  before  cooking,  for  the  purpose  of 
making  them  white.  The  flavor  is  better,  however,  to 
throw  them  immediately  into  boiling  salted  water,  and  let 
them  cook  rapidly  until  thoroughly  done  (about  twen- 
ty minutes).  Eemove,  then,  the  skin  and  little  pipes, 
sprinkle  over  pepper  and  salt,  roll  them  in  Qgg^  peppered 
and  salted,  and  then  in  flne  sifted  cracker  crumbs.  Fry 
by  immersion  in  hot  lard,  flrst  testing  it  by  throwing  in 
a  bit  of  bread,  to  see  if  hot  enough.  Serve  immediately 
with  either  tomato  sauce  (page  155)  or  a  plain  white 
sauce  (see  next  receipt).     A  circle  of  rice  (boiled  in 


152  Little  Dishes. 

milk)  or  boiled  macaroni,  or  some  flowerets  of  cauli- 
flower, with  the  white  sauce  poured  over  both,  is  very 
good.  Sweetbreads  are  often  served  with  pease.  The 
flavor  of  sweetbreads  is  much  better  if  they  are  cooked 
to  completion  when  once  begun.  It  is  not  so  well  to 
parboil  and  allow  them  to  get  cold  before  frying. 

Sweetbreads,  with  Cream  Dressing,  on  Toast. 
Boil  a  pair  of  sweetbreads  as  indicated  in  the  last 
receipt,  and,  when  they  have  been  skirmed  and  the  pipes 
have  been  removed,  cut  them  into  good-sized  dice. 
Then  mix  them  in  a  sauce  made  as  follows :  Place  in  a 
little  saucepan  butter  the  size  of  a  black  walnut,  and 
when  it  bubbles  throw  in  a  dessertspoonful  (half  an 
ounce)  of  flour ;  let  it  cook  without  coloring,  then  pour 
in  gradually,  stirring  with  an  egg  whisk,  one  and  a  half 
cupfuls  of  milk,  or  half  milk  and  half  cream  ;  season  it 
with  salt  and  a  suspicion  of  red  pepper.  This  is  seasoning 
enough  for  any  invalid,  yet  sometimes  a  little  nutmeg 
and  sometimes  grated  cheese  is  also  added.  When  the 
sauce  is  smooth,  mix  in  the  sweetbread  dice,  and  when 
all  is  thoroughly  hot,  serve  it  immediately,  poured  over  a 
w^ell-made  piece  of  buttered  toast,  partially  moistened 
W' ith  a  little  hot  water.  Decorate  the  dish  with  parsley, 
or  small  leaves,  or  flowers  of  any  kind. 

Macaroni  and  Tomato  Sauce. 
Sauce :  Put  butter  size  of  an  Ggg  into  a  saucepan,  and 
when  it  is  at  the  boiling-point  throw  in  an  onion 
(minced),  two  sprigs  of  parsley  (chopped  fine),  and  a 
little  pepper.  Let  it  cook  five  or  eight  minutes ;  then 
throw  in  a  heaping  tablespoon ful  of  fiour  and  a  little 
broth  from  the  stock-pot ;  if  there  be  no  broth,  use  a  lit- 
tle boiling  water;  stir  this  well  and  let  it  cook  five  or 
eight  minutes  longer.     Now  pour  in  about  a  coffee-cup- 


Macaroni  au  Gratin. — Macaroni  Croquettes.    153 

ful  of  tomatoes  which  have  been  stewed  and  strained 
through  a  colander  or  a  sieve,  and  stir  all  together. 
Boil  half  a  pound  of  macaroni  tender  in  well-salted 
boiling  water  or  in  stock,  and  drain  it  in  the  colander. 
Place  alternate  layers  of  the  macaroni  and  the  sauce 
on  a  hot  dish,  pouring  the  sauce  over  the  top.  Put  the 
dish  into  the  oven  two  or  three  minutes  to  heat.  Serve 
immediately. 

Macaroni  au  Geatin. 
Ingredients:  One  cupful  of  w^ell- boiled  macaroni 
(macaroni  added  to  well-salted  water  while  boiling,  and 
boiled  about  twenty  minutes,  or  until  soft,  then  drained); 
after  it  is  chopped  quite  line,  one  cupful  of  milk, 
two  or  three  sprigs  of  parsley,  or  a  heaping  teaspoon- 
ful  after  it  is  chopped  fine,  a  heaping  teaspoonful  of 
flour,  one  egg^  butter  the  size  of  a  black  walnut.  Put  the 
butter  in  a  little  saucepan,  and,  when  it  bubbles,  throw 
in  the  flour  and  cook  it  without  coloring,  then  add  the 
milk  and  the  parsley ;  let  it  simmer  a  minute,  then  take 
it  from  the  fire ;  add  a  little  of  the  chopped  macaroni  to 
the  Ggg  for  the  purpose  of  beating  it  more  easily,  then 
add  the  sauce  and  remainder  of  the  macaroni.  Put  it 
into  a  little  pint  pudding-dish  or  gratin  pan,  sprinkle 
over  coarse  bread  crumbs  which  have  been  colored  in  a 
little  butter,  or  place  it  in  the  oven  for  a  few  minutes  to 
color  the  top,  which  makes  it  "  au  gratinP 

Macaroni  Croquettes  (Louis  Bertholon,  Chef). 
Throw  a  third  of  a  package  (one  third  of  a  pound) 
of  macaroni  into  salted  boiling  water,  and  boil  it  for 
twenty  minutes;  then  cut  it  into  quarter-inch  lengths, 
forming  little  rings. 

Prepare  a  sauce  as  follows :  Make  a  roux  by  placing 
in  a  saucepan  butter  the  size  of  a  pigeon's  ^gg\  when 
7* 


154  Little  Dishes, 

bubbling,  add  a  generous  tablespoonfiil  (a  quarter  of 
a  cupful)  of  flour;  let  it  cook  a  minute,  and  then  add 
a  cnpful  of  stock,  half  a  cupful  of  cream,  two  table- 
spoonfuls  of  grated  cheese,  fifth  of  a  nutmeg  (grated), 
salt,  little  pepper,  and,  when  all  is  well  mixed  and 
cooked  for  a  couple  of  minutes,  take  the  mixture  from 
the  fire  and  stir  in  also  the  beaten  yolk  of  an  Qgg. 
Eeturn  the  saucepan  to  the  fire  to  cook  the  Qgg  slightly, 
but  do  not  let  it  boil,  as  that  would  curdle  the  Ggg. 
Now  mix  in  evenly  the  macaroni  rings  (two  cupfuls),  and 
spread  the  mixture  about  half  an  inch  in  thickness  over 
a  pan.  When  cold  it  should  be  made  into  croquette 
form,  egged  and  bread-crumbed,  to  be  fried  in  boiling 
lard. 

This  mixture  is  quite  soft  to  handle,  but  with  a  little 
practice  it  is  easily  managed.  Take  enough  for  a  cro- 
quette with  a  spoon  ;  shape  it  on  the  table  with  a  knife; 
sprinkle  over  some  sifted  cracker  crumbs,  then  lift  it 
dexterously  with  a  pancake  turner  on  the  plate  of 
slightly  beaten  Ggg\  turn  it  over  with  the  pancake 
turner;  then  again  lift  it  to  a  plate  of  sifted  cracker 
crumbs.     It  can  now  be  rolled  without  trouble. 

Croquettes  of  all  kinds  are  better  to  be  quite  soft. 

Cheese  served  in  this  manner  is  not  indigestible,  ac- 
cording to  M.  Mattieu  Williams  in  an  article  on  "The 
Chemistry  of  Cookery,"  published  in  the  Popular  Sci- 
ence Monthly.  Mr.  Williams  asserts,  with  good  reason- 
ing, that  cheese,  although  indigestible  when  eaten  raw,  is 
very  digestible  when  cooked  and  mixed  with  other  arti- 
cles of  food.  The  diet  is  so  hearty  and  rich,  that  when 
eaten  in  much  quantity,  other  food  should  not  be  taken 
at  the  same  time.  In  this  receipt  the  cheese  can  be 
omitted  if  preferred. 

These  croquettes  are  to  be  served  with  tomato  sauce. 


Tomato  Sauce. — A  Saladj  etc.  155 

Tomato  Sauce. 

Ingredients:  One  pint  can  of  tomatoes;  one  sprig  of 
parsley  ;  half  of  a  bay  leaf;  two  cloves ;  one  teaspoonful 
of  onion,  or  one  slice ;  salt  and  pepper.  Add  the  sea- 
soning to  the  tomatoes,  and  let  them  simmer  all  togeth- 
er for  fifteen  minutes,  stirring  occasionally.  Pass  it 
through  the  sieve,  leaving  out  the  seasoning.  Place  in 
a  saucepan  butter  the  size  of  a  hickory  nut,  and,  when 
it  bubbles,  add  a  teaspoonful  of  flour.  Mix  and  cook 
it  well,  then  add  the  tomato  pulp,  stirring  it  until  it  is 
smooth  and  consistent. 

The  sauce  can  be  made  one  or  two  days  before  it  is 
needed,  if  more  convenient,  and  reheated  just  before 
serving. 

A  Salad. 

A  lettuce  salad  is  very  wholesome  served  with  meat. 
The  usual  dressing  is  a  mixture  of  the  following  pro- 
portions: Three  tablespoonfuls  of  oil ;  one  tablespoon- 
ful  of  vinegar  (a  little  less  if  the  vinegar  is  quite  strong) ; 
a  saltspoonf  ul  of  salt ;  half  a  saltspoonf  ul  of  pepper ;  an 
even  teaspoonful  of  onion,  minced  very  fine.  The  salt, 
pepper,  and  onion  are  first  mixed  together,  then  the  oil 
(by  degrees),  and  lastly  the  vinegar. 

A  very  good  dressing  for  lettuce  is  furnished  by  any 
meat  or  fowl  gravy  (the  thickened  gravy  better),  and  a 
very  little  vinegar. 

Otsteks  on  Toast,  or  in  Shells  ok  Paper  Cases. 

These  oysters  may  be  served  on  thin  slices  of  toast, 
or  in  paper  cases,  or  in  shells,  if  convenient.  A  sprink- 
ling of  bread  crumbs  colored  in  a  little  butter  would 
finish  them  in  the  paper  or  shells. 

Put  one  quart  of  oysters  (about  twenty-five)  on  the 


166  Little  Dishes. 

fire  in  their  own  liquor.  The  moment  thej  begin  to 
boil  turn  them  into  a  hot  dish  through  a  colander,  leav- 
ing the  oysters  in  the  colander.  Put  into  the  saucepan 
two  ounces  of  butter  (size  of  an  eg^,  and  when  it  bub- 
bles sprinkle  in  one  ounce  (a  tablespoonful)  of  sifted 
flour;  let  it  cook  a  minute  without  taking  color,  stirring 
it  well  with  a  wire  Qgg  whisk,  then  add,  mixing  well,  a 
cupful  of  the  oyster  liquor.  Take  it  from  the  fire  and 
mix  in  the  yolks  of  two  eggs,  a  little  salt,  a  very  little 
cayenne  pepper,  one  teaspoonful  of  lemon  juice,  and 
one  or  two  gratings  of  nutmeg.  Beat  it  w^ell;  then 
return  it  to  the  fire  to  set  the  eggs,  without  allowing  it 
to  boil.     Put  in  the  oysters. 

Oyster  Croquettes. 

Place  a  pint  of  oysters  (the  measure  nearly  solid  with 
oysters)  over  the  fire,  with  a  quantity  of  their  cold 
liquor;  when  they  begin  to  simmer,  drain  them  quite 
dry  from  their  liquor  (through  the  colander),  and  cut 
them  into  large  dice.  If  the  oysters  are  small,  cutting 
them  into  three  or  four  pieces  each  will  be  suflScient. 

Next,  place  butter  size  of  a  black  walnut  in  a  little 
saucepan,  and,  when  it  bubbles,  throw  in  a  dessert- 
spoonful of  onion,  minced  fine;  let  it  fry  a  couple  of 
minutes  without  taking  color;  then  add  a  tablespoonful 
(quarter  of  a  cupful)  of  flour ;  let  it  also  cook  a  few  mo- 
ments without  taking  color ;  then  pour  in  half  a  cupful 
of  cream  or  milk,  and  half  a  cupful  of  the  oyster  liquor ; 
season  with  salt,  cayenne  pepper  (very  carefully),  and  a 
few  dashes  of  nutmeg.  When  it  is  evenly  mixed  and 
the  flour  is  thoroughly  cooked  (a  couple  of  minutes), 
take  it  from  the  fire,  stir  in  the  oysters,  and  set  it  away 
to  get  cold.  Mould  them,  roll  in  egg  (slightly  seasoned 
with  pepper  and  salt)  and  sifted  cracker  crumbs,  and  fry 
them  by  immersion  into  boiling  lard. 


Oyster  Croquettes.  157 

They  can  be  served  with  or  without  any  of  the  sauces 
which  are  suitable  for  fish  or  meat;  for  instance,  drawn 
butter  sauce  with  either  chopped  hard-boiled  eggs  or 
capers  mixed  in ;  Bechamel  sauce,  the  simple  brown 
sauce,  etc. 

Serve  them  quite  hot,  directly  from  the  fire. 


SOME   CREAM  SOUPS. 

It  is  perhaps  a  little  troublesome  to  make  the  cream 
soups,  as  the  material  has  to  be  passed  through  the 
sieve.  Thej  are  exceedingly  delicate  and  nourishing, 
however,  and  help  to  furnish  a  pleasant  variety  in  a 
limited  rejpertoire  of  dishes.  The  farina  cream  is  es- 
pecially simple.  The  cream  of  oysters  is  particularly 
good.  I  first  saw  it  at  Delmonico's,  and  wondered  what 
could  be  the  ingredients,  admiring  more  than  ever  the 
consummate  skill  of  those  cooks. 

The  special  enigma  was,  how  the  soup  could  be  so 
light,  as  if  raised  with  baking-powder.  In  learning  how 
to  make  these  soups  afterwards,  from  a  most  able  chef 
(Louis  Cuppinger),  it  was  a  matter  of  surprise  and  satis- 
faction to  find  the  oyster  cream  so  simply  made,  con- 
taining only  the  ingredients  of  a  common  oyster  soup. 

The  potato  cream  {Puree  Alexandra)  is  delicious, 
and  can  be  made  without  stock.  Stock  in  itself  con- 
tains some  nutrition,  and  enough  might  well  be  made 
at  once  in  winter  to  supply  our  invalid  for  a  week. 

The  asparagus  cream  soup  is  also  especially  good. 

For  the  oyster  and  chicken  cream  soups  a  small  pestle 
and  mortar  (inexpensive)  were  considered  by  the  chef 


Cream  of  Oysters.  159 

indispensable  for  pounding  the  meat  before  passing  it 
tlirough  the  sieve.  It  is  possible  that  after  the  meat  is 
chopped  very  fine  some  other  means  may  be  suggested 
for  pounding  the  meat,  without  coloring,  if  the  pestle 
and  mortar  are  not  at  hand. 

A  bowl  of  cream  soup,  with  a  couple  of  wafer  crack- 
ers or  a  slice  of  Graham  bread,  might  at  times  well  con- 
stitute a  sufficient  meal  for  an  invalid. 

Cream  of  Oysters. 
Put  a  quart  of  oysters  with  their  liquor  in  a  porcelain 
kettle  or  cleanest  of  saucepans  over  the  fire.  When  the 
oysters  are  just  about  to  boil,  pour  them  into  a  colan- 
der (over  a  bowl),  leaving  the  oysters  in  the  colander. 
Chop  the  oysters  as  fine  as  possible,  and  pound  them 
well  in  a  mortar  or  thick  bowl.  Now  make  a  roux; 
i.  ^.,  put  in  a  saucepan  a  piece  of  butter  size  of  a  small 
Qgg,  and,  when  it  bubbles,  throw  in  a  generous  table- 
spoonful  of  flour  (one  and  a  half  ounces) ;  stir  it  well 
with  the  Qgg  whisk,  to  cook  the  flour  without  allowing 
it  to  color;  now  pour  in  the  oyster  liquor,  and  when 
well  mixed  over  the  fire  add  the  pounded  oyster  pulp 
and  a  pint  of  good  cream.  Pass  this  all  through  the 
sieve;  season  it  carefully  with  salt  and  cayenne  pepper; 
return  it  to  the  fire  to  heat  without  allowing  it  to  boil, 
and,  just  as  it  is  about  to  be  served,  add  half  a  cupful  of 
fresh  cream,  and  a  piece  of  butter  size  of  a  small  pig- 
eon's Qgg.  Whisk  it  well  with  the  egg-beater  (keeping 
it  hot,  without  boiling,  over  the  fire)  for  a  minute;  pour 
into  a  warm  tureen  and  serve  immediately. 

The  chef  sprinkled  over  the  top  some  coarse,  dry 
bread  crumbs  fried  in  a  little  butter.  This  addition  is 
generally  made  to  all  the  cream  soups.  Sometimes  little 
fancy  cuts  of  toast,  cut  witli  tin  cutters,  of  diamond 
shape,  are  sprinkled  over  the  top  of  the  soup  in  the  tn- 


160  Cream  Soups. 

reeii,  instead  of  the  fried  bread  crumbs.  For  robust 
people  little  drops  of  fried  fritter  batter,  looking  like 
cooked  beans,  are  sometimes  sprinkled  over  the  top  of 
vegetable  cream  soups. 

Ceeam  or  Rice  or  Farina  or  Barley. 
Put  either  a  half  cupful  of  rice  or  three  fourths  of  a 
cupful  of  farina  or  barley  into  a  quart  of  boiling  clear 
stock,  and  let  it  cook  until  the  grain  is  quite  soft  (about 
half  an  hour);  then  press  it  through  the  sieve,  add 
two  or  three  tablespoonfuls  or  more  of  good  cream,  and 
season  carefully  with  red  pepper  and  salt.  Heat  it 
again,  and,  just  before  serving,  whip  the  soup  in  the 
tureen  with  the  egg  whisk. 

Cream  of  Chicken. 
When  chicken  is  boiled  for  the  family  dinner  (a 
sprig  of  parsley  and  a  slice  of  onion  being  put  into  the 
kettle),  a  breast  and  some  soft  pieces  of  the  chicken  can 
be  appropriated  for  our  invalid.  It  should  be  chopped 
fine  as  possible,  then  pounded  in  a  mortar,  if  one  has 
it;  and,  if  not,  in  a  chopping-bowl.  It  is  then  moist- 
ened with  a  little  of  the  chicken  broth,  and  then  pressed 
through  a  wire  sieve.  To  a  generous  half  cupful  of  this 
fine  chicken  pulp  add  about  one  cupful  and  a  half  of 
the  chicken  broth,  free  from  fat.  Thicken  with  a  7'oux; 
i.  e.,  in  a  little  saucepan  place  a  piece  of  butter  size  of 
a  hickory  nut,  and,  when  it  bubbles,  throw  in  a  tea- 
spoonful  of  flour;  let  it  cook  w^ithout  coloring;  then 
add  the  chicken  pulp  and  broth  (mixed);  stir  well,  and, 
when  about  to  simmer,  add  a  couple  of  tablespoonfuls 
of  good  cream,  and  a  teaspoonful  of  parsley,  chopped 
very,  very  fine.  Season  also  with  red  pepper  and  salt. 
Whisk  it  with  the  egg-beater,  before  serving,  keeping  it 
hot,  though  not  allowing  it  to  boil. 


Cream  of  Asparagus. — Asparagus  Soup.      161 

Ckeam  of  Asparagus. 

This  is  one  of  the  best  of  the  cream  soups.  The  re- 
ceipt is  given  for  two  and  one  third  quarts  of  soup,  yet, 
of  course,  half  or  a  third  of  the  quantity  can  be  made 
for  the  invalid,  if  more  is  not  needed. 

Ingredients :  Two  quarts  of  stock ;  about  thirty 
stalks  of  asparagus ;  one  half  cupful  of  good  cream ;  two 
tablespoonf uls  of  flour ;  butter  size  of  pigeon's  Qgg. 

Boil  the  asparagus  in  the  stock;  cut  and  save  some 
of  the  points,  to  serve  in  the  soup;  the  remainder  press 
through  the  sieve.  Now  make  a  roux  by  putting  the 
butter  in  a  saucepan,  and,  when  it  bubbles,  throw  in  the 
flour,  which  cook  a  minute  without  coloring,  stirring  it 
well  with  the  Qgg  whisk.  Now  pour  in  the  stock  and 
the  asparagus  pulp,  gradually  at  flrst;  let  it  boil  a  min- 
ute, then  add  the  cream,  which  heat,  but  do  not  let  boil, 
for  fear  of  curdling.  Season  to  taste  with  salt  and 
pepper.  When  the  soup  is  in  the  tureen,  ready  to  serve, 
sprinkle  tlie  asparagus  points  on  top. 

A  Simple  Asparagus  Soup  (Dr.  Comstock's  Soup). 

Fifteen  or  more  stalks  of  asparagus  are  boiled  in  a 
quart  of  milk,  and  the  whole  (excepting  some  of  the 
points)  is  passed  through  the  sieve.  It  is  then  thick- 
ened with  a  roux^  as  in  the  preceding  receipt,  with  but- 
ter size  of  a  walnut,  and  a  heaping  teaspoonful  of  flour. 
A  few  tablespoonfuls  of  good  cream  can  then  be  added, 
or  it  is  very  good  without  it,  if  it  is  not  at  hand.  It  is 
then  seasoned  to  taste  with  salt  and  pepper,  and  served 
with  the  asparagus  points  sprinkled  over  the  top. 

Cream  of  Potatoes  {Puree  Alexandra). 
Boil  in  water  five  medium-sized  potatoes  until  they 
are  nearly  done ;  then  pour  off  the  water,  and  add  a 


162  Cream  Soups, 

scant  two  quarts  of  clear  stock,  made  witli  eitlier  veal 
or  beef.  When  the  potatoes  are  thoroughly  cooked,  pass 
them,  with  the  stock,  through  a  wire  sieve  ;  then  add  the 
beaten  yolks  of  two  eggs  and  half  a  cupful  of  good,  thick 
cream ;  season  carefully  with  salt  and  cayenne  pepper. 
Stir  it  for  a  minute  over  the  fire,  to  slightly  cook  the 
eggs,  without  allowing  it  to  boil ;  then  keep  it  at  the 
side  of  the  range  (better  kept  in  a  double  kettle  or  lain 
marie)  until  about  ready  to  serve. 

At  the  same  time  that  the  soup  is  being  made  pre- 
pare some  vegetables  for  a  garnish,  as  follows :  Cut  a  me- 
dium-sized turnip  (two  ounces)  into  little  dice  this  way — 
cut  the  turnip  into  slices  about  a  quarter  of  an  inch 
thick,  without  allowing  the  knife  to  cut  quite  through, 
so  the  slices  will  hold  together;  then  slice  them  trans- 
versely in  the  same  manner.  Now,  holding  the  turnip 
firmly  together,  cut  off  the  ends  into  little  dice  about  a 
quarter  of  an  inch  square.  In  the  same  manner  cut  a 
carrot  (two  ounces)  into  little  dice ;  provide,  also,  a  ta- 
blespoonful  or  more  of  pease  and  some  string-beans  cut 
into  quarter-inch  lengths. 

All  these  vegetables  may  be  used,  or  part  of  them,  as 
convenient ;  the  carrots  and  pease,  however,  are  desira- 
ble for  their  fine  color  and  flavor.  Boil  the  vegetables 
separately,  in  little  cups  of  salted  boiling  water ;  drain, 
and  place  them  in  the  soup  tureen.  When  about  ready 
to  serve,  place  the  soup  over  the  fire  without  allowing 
it  to  boil,  and  whip  it  vigorously  with  the  Qgg  whisk  for 
one  or  two  minutes ;  then  add  the  vegetables,  and  serve 
immediately. 

Or,  the  soup  can  be  made  without  stock,  boiling  the 
potatoes  in  water,  and  adding  more  cream  and  a  piece 
of  butter  size  of  a  small  egg. 


Cream  of  String-heans  and  of  Corn.  163 

Cjream  of  Stking-beans. 

Throw  a  quart  of  green  string-beans  in  boiling  water, 
in  which  there  is  half  a  tablespoonf  ul  of  soda  or  as  much 
carbonate  of  ammonia  as  would  lay  on  the  point  of  a 
knife,  to  preserve  the  color;  drain  the  beans,  and  pass 
them  through  a  sieve  (not  colander,  but  sieve).  There 
will  be  about  a  pint  of  pulp.  Make  a  roux  by  placing 
in  a  saucepan  butter  the  size  of  a  pigeon's  Qgg^  and, 
when  it  bubbles,  throw  in  two  large,  heaping  table- 
spoonfuls  of  flour  (two  generous  ounces);  let  it  cook 
without  taking  color ;  then  pour  in  a  quart  of  clear  stock 
(see  page  164),  and  the  pint  of  string-bean  pulp.  Stir 
it  well  with  the  egg  whisk,  letting  it  cook  a  few  min- 
utes without  boiling.  It  would  be  liable  to  curdle  if 
boiled.  Just  before  serving  pour  in  nearly  a  cupful  of 
good,  thick  cream  ;  season  with  salt  and  cayenne  pepper. 
Whip  it  well  with  the  Qgg  whisk  over  the  fire,  and  serve 
immediately. 

At  Delmonico's  they  served,  sprinkled  over  the  soup 
in  the  tureen,  imitation  navy-beans,  made  by  dropping 
drops  of  fritter  batter  in  hot  lard.  They  were  crisp 
and  savory,  but  a  fritter  of  any  kind  should  never  be 
mentioned  in  an  invalid's  book. 

Ceeam  of  Corn. 
To  a  pint  of  grated  corn  (the  sweet  part,  nearest  the 
cob,  well  scraped)  add  a  quart  of  hot  water.  Boil  it  for 
an  hour,  and  press  it  through  the  sieve.  Put  into  the 
saucepan  butter  the  size  of  a  small  egg,  and,  when  it 
bubbles,  sprinkle  in  a  heaping  tablespoonful  of  sifted 
flour,  which  cook  a  minute  w^ithout  coloring,  stirring 
well.  Now  add  half  of  the  corn  pulp,  and,  when  smooth- 
ly mixed,  stir  in  the  remainder  of  the  corn  ;  add  a  little 
cayenne  pepper,  salt,  a  scant  pint  of  boiling  milk,  and  a 


164  Other  8ou])s. 


'gg 


cupful  of  cream.     Before  serving,  stir  well  with  an  e^ 
whisk,  to  give  it  a  light  consistency. 

Or,  for  a  change,  an  addition  to  the  soup  of  the  yolks 
of  two  eggs,  and  the  soup  stirred  a  minute  over  the  fire, 
although  not  allowed  to  boil,  is  good. 

Or,  a  spoonful  of  chopped  parsley  may  be  added. 

Cream  of  Corn  (Ko.  2). 
This  is  the  chefs  receipt.  Place  over  the  fire  a  pint 
of  grated  corn,  with  a  piece  of  butter  size  of  a  walnut ; 
let  it  cook  only  a  minute,  when  pour  in  a  quart  of  veal 
stock,  and  boil  it  an  hour;  pass  it  then  through  the 
sieve ;  add  about  three  tablespoonf  uls  of  cream  ;  beat  it 
again,  and  as  it  is  about  to  be  served  stir  it  well  with  an 
Q>gg  whisk. 

OTHER    SOUPS. 

Stock  for  Soup. 

A  good  stock  may  be  made  by  simply  putting  fresh 
lean  beef  or  veal,  with  some  bone,  into  clear,  cold  wa- 
ter (a  gallon  of  water  to  three  pounds  of  meat  and  bone), 
and  let  it  simmer  for  five  hours,  passing  it  through  the 
sieve,  and  seasoning  it  carefully  with  pepper  and  salt. 
It  is  better  to  make  the  stock  the  day  before  it  is  want- 
ed, as  then  every  particle  of  fat  will  rise  to  the  top,  and 
form  in  a  hard  cake,  which  can  be  removed  at  once,  and 
the  settlings  can  be  avoided  at  the  bottom,  leaving  a 
clear  soup.  There  should  never  be  a  particle  of  fat 
left  in  a  soup. 

The  flavor  of  the  soup  is  much  improved  by  a  chick- 
en addition.  Occasion  might  be  taken,  at  the  time  of 
making  beef  or  veal  stock,  to  have  a  boiled  chicken 
for  dinner,  boiling  it  in  the  stock-pot.  The  flavor  is 
also  much  improved  by  the  addition  of  vegetables  thrown 


Gouffe's  Beceijpt  for  Stoclc  or  Bouillon.        165 

in  an  hour  before  the  stock  is  done.  Four  or  five  slices 
of  onion,  first  fried  {sauted)  or  colored  in  a  little  drip- 
ping on  a  platter  before  adding  to  the  soup ;  also,  the 
same  quantity  of  sliced  carrot,  two  good  sprigs  of  parsley, 
and,  if  you  have  it,  a  stick  of  celery  or  a  teaspoonful  of 
celery-seeds,  and  a  couple  of  cloves  stuck  in  the  onion. 
All  contribute  to  the  quality  of  the  soup. 

In  winter  enough  stock  ought  to  be  made  to  last  a 
week,  as  it  will  keep  that  time  and  longer  in  a  cold 
place.  Each  day  a  portion  of  the  stock  jelly  can  be  re- 
heated, and,  with  different  accompaniments,  the  invalid 
can  have  many  changes.  For  instance,  the  addition  of 
a  few  spoonfuls  of  cooked  macaroni  will  make  a  good 
macaroni  soup.  A  spoonful  of  cooked  pease  and  other 
vegetables,  in  fancy  shapes,  would  make  a  spring  soup 
(or  Julienne)  \  a  few  spoonfuls  of  cooked  tomatoes  a 
tomato  soup ;  toasted  bread  sippets,  in  fanciful  shapes, 
2ijpotage  aux  croutons.  The  stock,  added  to  the  cream 
soups,  furnishes  a  dish  for  the  most  fastidious  epicure, 
and  a  nutritious  repast  for  the  invalid. 

In  selecting  the  meat  for  soups  cheap  cuts  from  the 
leg  and  shoulder  of  beef  are  generally  used.  Ox-tails 
make  good  soup.  Knuckles  of  veal,  calf-heads,  and 
tough  chickens  play  a  satisfactory  role  in  stock.  The 
meat,  afterwards,  can  be  made  into  palatable  side  dishes 
in  the  way  of  croquettes,  etc. 

I  will  give  Gouife's  receipt  for  stock,  showing  the 
distribution  of  vegetables,  as  follows : 

Gouffe's  Eeceipt  fok  Stock  or  Bouillon. 
Three  pounds  of  beef ;  one  pound  of  bone  (about  the 
quantity  in  that  weight  of  meat) ;  five  and  a  half  quarts 
of  clear,  cold  water ;  two  ounces  of  salt ;  two  carrots, 
say  ten  ounces;  two  large  onions,  say  ten  ounces, 
with  two  cloves  stuck  in  them ;  six  leeks,  say  fourteen 


166  Other  Soups. 

ounces ;  one  head  of  celery,  saj  one  ounce ;  two  tur- 
nips, say  ten  ounces  ;  one  parsnip,  say  two  ounces. 

Oyster  Soup. 
To  one  quart,  or  twenty-five  oysters,  add  a  half-pint 
of  water.  Put  the  oysters  on  the  fire  in  their  liquor. 
TJie  moment  it  begins  to  simmer  (not  boil,  for  that 
would  shrivel  the  oysters),  pour  it  through  a  colander 
into  a  dish,  leaving  the  oysters  in  the  colander.  Now 
put  into  the  saucepan  two  ounces  of  butter  (size  of  an 
Ggg)  when  it  bubbles,  sprinkle  in  a  heaping  tablespoon- 
f ul  (one  ounce)  of  sifted  flour ;  let  the  roux  cook  a  few 
moments,  without  coloring ;  stirring  it  well  with  the 
egg  whisk,  add  to  it  gradually  the  oyster  juice,  and 
half  a  pint  or  a  cupful  of  good  cream  (which  has  been 
brought  to  a  boil  in  another  vessel) ;  season  carefully 
with  Cayenne  pepper  and  salt.  Skim  well,  then  add 
the  oysters.  Let  it  get  hot  without  boiling  and  serve 
immediately. 

Clam  Bkoth. 

This  broth  is  much  used  of  late  years  for  invalids. 
Indeed,  in  New  York  it  seems  to  be  as  standard  a  sick- 
room dish  as  beef  tea.  It  can  often  be  retained  on  the 
stomach  when  other  foods  disagree  with  the  patient,  and 
is  a  valuable  substitute  for  milk,  when  that  proves  unsat- 
isfactory. It  is  stimulating  and  nutritious.  It  can  be 
administered  by  the  spoonful,  like  beef  tea,  in  cases  of 
severe  illness,  or  can  be  taken  by  the  cupful,  when, 
with  a  Graham  cracker,  it  affords  a  hearty  repast  for 
others. 

For  half  a  pint  (a  cupful)  use  six  large  hard-shelled 
clams.  Wash  them  well  with  a  brush,  and  place  them 
in  a  kettle  with  two  or  three  tablespoonfuls  of  water 
over  the  fire. 


Clam  Soup. — Flour  Soup.  167 

The  clam  broth  is  simplj  the  juice  of  the  clam  boiled 
for  a  minute.  It  does  not  require  seasoning,  as  clam 
juice  is  salt  enough ;  indeed,  it  has  sometimes  to  be  a 
little  diluted  with  hot  water  to 'reduce  the  salt  flavor. 
In  pouring  the  juice  from  the  kettle,  avoid  any  parti- 
cles of  sand  which  may  have  settled  at  the  bottom. 

As  soon  as  the  clams  are  opened  in  the  kettle  tliey 
are  sufficiently  cooked;  further  cooking  renders  them 
tough.     If 

Clam  Soup 
is  to  be  made,  remove  the  clams  from  the  shells  as 
soon  as  they  have  opened,  cut  off  the  tough  parts,  and 
place  them  one  side  in  a  warm  place,  until  the  juice  is 
prepared.  Add  about  a  cupful  of  hot  milk  to  the 
juice,  and  thicken  it  with  a  roux,  or  a  little  flour. 
Now  add  the  soft  parts  of  the  clams,  bring  the  soup 
again  to  the  boiling-point  and  serve. 

Placing  the  live  clams  over  the  fire  is  a  very  cruel 
way  to  open  them.  Men -cooks  and  fishermen  open 
them  with  a  knife,  a  half-dozen  in  the  course  of  half  a 
minute. 

Flour  Soup. 
Put  butter,  size  of  a  large  hickory  nut,  into  a  little 
saucepan,  and,  when  it  bubbles,  throw  in  a  heaping  table- 
spoonful  of  flour  (a  generous  ounce).  Stir  it  well  w^ith  the 
egg  whisk,  allowing  it  to  color  evenly  to  a  light  brown. 
Take  care  that  it  does  not  burn.  Now  gradually  pour 
in  a  pint  of  warm  milk,  stirring  it  well  with  the  egg 
whisk.  There  should  be  no  lumps.  Let  it  cook  for  a 
minute  only,  when  take  it  from  the  fire  and  add  the 
beaten  yolk  of  an  egg.  Keturn  it  to  the  fire  for  a  few 
moments  to  set  the  egg^  stirring  well,  and  not  allowing 
it  to  boil,  as  the  egg  would  then  curdle.     Season  with 


168  Other  Soujps, 

salt,  a  suspicion  of  red  pepper,  and  a  half  teaspoonful  of 
parsley  chopped  very  line.  French  cooks  often  add  the 
same  quantity  of  chopped  elves,  but  the  latter  we  will 
not  recommend  for  our  invalid. 

It  can  be  served  with  or  without  little  toasts  of  bread, 
cut  in  thin  slices  and  fanciful  shapes  before  toasting. 

The  French  and  Germans  often  flavor  "  Soupe  a  la 
Farine"  with  a  little  sugar  and  cinnamdn  instead  of 
salt,  pepper,  and  parsley  or  cives. 


DISHES   OF   RICE. 

To  Boil  Rice. 
Foe  a  teacnpfnl  of  the  boiled  rice  place  a  quart  of 
clear  water  over  the  fire,  and,  when  it  Soils  hard,  throw 
in  two  ounces,  or  two  tablespoonfuls,  of  rice  which  has 
been  previously  well  washed  in  cold  water.  Throw  in 
also  a  teaspoonful  of  salt.  Take  off  any  scum  that 
rises.  In  twenty  minutes  press  some  of  the  grains  be- 
tween the  fingers,  and  if  quite  soft  it  is  cooked  enough. 
Do  not  cook  the  grains  until  they  become  broken. 
When  done,  pour  the  rice  into  a  sieve  to  drain  off  the 
water;  return  the  rice  grains  to  the  dry  saucepan  ; 
cover  them  partly,  and  set  them  at  the  side  of  the  fire 
to  steam  and  dry. 

To  Boil  Rice  in  Milk. 
Bring  one  pint  of  milk  to  a  boil,  when  stir  in  two 
tablespoonfuls  of  well-washed  rice  and  a  quarter  of  a 
teaspoonful  of  salt ;  pour  it  into  a  basin,  cover  it  well, 
and  place  it  in  the  oven  to  bake  for  an  hour ;  or  it  may 
be  cooked  in  the  double  saucepan.  In  a  copper  sauce- 
pan it  could  be  boiled  at  the  top  of  the  range  without 
burning,  when  it  would  be  cooked  in  about  twenty 
minutes. 

Rice 
May  be  served  with   many  dishes;  for  instance,  in  a 
circle  around  chicken,  fried  (spring  chicken)  or  boiled, 
or  cold   chicken   dice   stewed,  with   white   or  brown 
sauce  poured  over   both  the  rice  and  chicken ;  or  it 


170 


Dishes  of  llice. 


may  be  served  in  the  same  manner  with  sweetbreads, 
or  with  stewed  fruits,  apples,  peaches,  pears,  etc. 

EicE  AND  Geavy. 
Fresh  boiled  rice  wet  with  the  juice  from  roast  beef 
or  mutton  (free  from  fat)  and  served  on  a  piece  of  toast. 

Rice  Cones. 
Cook  tlie  rice  in  eitlier   milk  or  water,  and  while 

liot  pour  it  into  cups 
(which  have  previ- 
ously been  dipped 
,  in  cold  water)  fill- 
ing them  about 
three  fourths  full. 
When  cold  and 
ready  to  serve,  turn  them  out,  arranging  them  uni- 
formly on  a  platter;  or,  for  our  invalid,  turn  one  into 
a  small  oval  platter,  or  a  saucer.  Scoop  out  a  little  of 
the  rice  from  the  top  of  each  cone,  and  put  in  its  place 
any  kind  of  jelly.  Pour  in  the  bottom  of  the  dish  a 
hot  brandy  sauce  (see  page  189),  or  hot  sweet  sauce  of 
any  kind,  provided  it  is  not  flavored  with  vanilla. 

A  Plain  Rice  Pudding. 

The  manner  of  making  this  most  delicious  and  plain- 
est of  puddings  was  taught  me  by  a  most  able  chef 
(Louis  ]3ertholon).  The  flavor  is  quite  remarkable,  con- 
sidering that  it  is  almost  as  simple  as  plain  boiled  rice. 

For  an  invalid  choose  a  little  pudding  dish  holding 
about  a  pint.  Put  in  a  heaping  tablespoonful  of  un- 
cooked rice,  fill  the  dish  with  boiling  milk,  and  place  it 
in  the  oven.  Let  it  cook,  stirring  it  once  or  twice  (to 
prevent  lumping)  for  about  lialf  an  hour;  then  take  it 
out  and  mix  in  a  tablespoonful  of  sugar  and  half  a  tea- 


Rice  Pudding.  171 

spoonful  of  essence  of  lemon,  or  the  tliin,  yellow  cuts 
(without  any  white)  of  the  rind  of  half  a  lemon,  or  with 
jleur  d^ Orange.,  or  a  sprinkling  of  nutmeg,  or,  indeed, 
any  flavoring  preferred,  excepting  vanilla,  which  is  too 
unwholesome  for  invalids ;  return  the  dish  to  the  oven, 
cooking  altogether  two  hours,  or  one  and  a  half  hours, 
if  the  oven  is  quite  hot.  As  the  milk  boils  down  more 
hot  milk  should  be  added  (keeping  the  dish  always  tilled) 
by  lifting  the  skin  and  pouring  in  the  milk  at  the  side, 
or  by  removing  the  skin  and  allowing  a  new  one  to  form. 
The  dish  will  require  about  one  and  a  half  pints  of  milk. 

KicE  Pudding  (No.  2). 

Another  successful  pudding,  where  every  grain  of 
rice  lies  in  a  creamy  bed. 

Ingredients:  One  cupful  of  boiled  rice  (better  if 
fresh  cooked  and  hot);  three  cupfuls  of  milk;  three 
fourths  of  a  cupful  of  sugar;  one  tablespoonful  of 
cornstarch  ;  two  eggs ;  flavoring ;  or  half  these  ingredi- 
ents for  a  pint  pudding  dish.  Dissolve  the  cornstarch 
tirst  with  a  little  milk,  and 
then  stir  in  the  remainder 
of  the  milk.  Bring  this 
to  a  boil,  when  take  it 
from  the  fire,  and,  when 
slightly  cooled,  stir  in  the 
rice  and  the  yolks  of  the  eggs  beaten  well  with  the  su- 
gar. Return  this  to  the  fire  (there  is  less  risk  of  burn- 
ing in  a  custard  kettle)  and  stir  until  it  begins  to  thicken 
like  boiled  custard,  watching  it  carefully  not  to  let  it 
boil  or  curdle.  ISTow,  again,  remove  it  from  the  fire, 
add  the  flavoring,  say  a  scant  tcaspoonful  of  lemon  ex- 
tract, and  pour  it  into  a  pudding  dish.  Spread  over 
the  top  the  whites  of  the  eggs,  beaten  to  a  stiff  froth, 
with  a  little  sugar  and  flavoring  added.     Or,  with  the 


172 


Dishes  of  Rice. 


aid  of  a  cone  of  writing-paper,  decorate  the  top  with  a 
fanciful  design,  ol  la  meringue.  Give  it  a  delicate  color 
in  the  oven.     To  be  eaten  either  hot  or  cold. 

KicE  A  l'Imperateice  (Louis  Cuppinger). 
Place  over  the  fire  one  pint  and  a  half  of  milk,  and 

the  thin  yellow  cuts  of 
the  rind  of  a  lemon, 
and,  when  it  boils,  stir 
in  half  a  teacupful  of 
rice,  and  an  even  salt- 
spoonful  of  salt.  When 
cooked  (in  about 
twenty  minutes)  stir  in 
carefully  half  a  cupful  of  sugar  and  a  few  drops  of  es- 
sence of  lemon,  or  two  or  three  spoonfuls  of  rum,  or 
any  flavoring.  The  rice  should  be  rather  moist  when 
cooked.  Spread  it  on  a  platter  to  get  quite  cold,  then 
stir  in  carefully  a  half -pint  of  cream,  whipped  to  a 
froth,  and  the  fourth  of  a  box  of  gelatine  dissolved  in 
a  scant  half  cupful  of  water.  To  dissolve  the  gelatine, 
add  it  to  the  cold  water,  then  set  it  for  fifteen  or  twenty 
minutes  in  a  warm  place.  Mould  the  rice.  For  the 
invalid  it  may  be  moulded  in  a  teacup,  or  in  one  of  the 
pretty  little  fancy  moulds,  which  come  of  all  sizes. 

Rice  Pudding  a  la  Guillod. 

Ingredients  :  a  scant  half  cupful  of  rice  ;  one  pint  of 
water;  one  cupful  (half-pint)  of  milk;  butter  size  of  a 
hickory-nut;  one  tablespoonful  of  sugar;  four  eggs; 
salt;  flavoring,  say  a  scant  teaspoonful  of  lemon  extract, 
or  two  or  three  tablespoonfuls  of  rum. 

When  the  water  (salted)  is  at  the  boiling-point  add 
the  rice,  and  cook  it  twenty-five  minutes ;  then  add  the 
milk  (hot) ;  cook  it  ten  minutes  longer ;  then  add  the 


Currant  or  Plum  Jelly  Sauce.  VIZ 

butter,  sugar,  lemon,  and  well-beaten  yolks  of  the  eggs. 
Stir  this  for  a  few  moments  over  the  tire  to  set  the  eggs, 
without  allowing  it  to  boil.  This  batter  can  be  stirred 
with  a  spoon  for  the  purpose  of  partly  breaking  up  the 
grains  of  rice,  or  it  may  be  passed  through  a  sieve ;  either 
way  is  very  good.  When  the  batter  is  entirely  cold  stir 
in  dexterously  the  whites  of  the  eggs  beaten  to  a  stiff 
froth,  and  put  it  immediately  into  a  buttered  double 
boiler  (page  85),  or  into  a  long  tin  pail  which  can  be 
covered,  and  set  into  a  pot  of  boiling  water,  the  water 
reaching  about  three  fourths  to  the  top.  A.  weight  should 
be  placed  on  top  of  the  tin  pail  to  keep  it  from  turning. 
Cook  about  three  quarters  of  an  hour.  Turn  out  careful- 
ly on  a  platter,  and  serve  with  currant  or  plum  jelly  sauce. 
This  receipt  is  made  by  my  most  able  cook,  Louise 
Guillod,  who  for  six  years  has  relieved  me  of  all  re- 
sponsibility of  the  cuisi7ie. 

CUKEANT  OK  PlUM  JeLLY  SaUCE. 

Stir  two  dessertspoonfuls  of  currant  jelly  (a  scant 
third  of  a  cupful)  and  two  tablespoonfuls  of  sugar  into 
one  and  a  half  cupfuls  of  cold  water.  It  is  sometimes 
difficult  to  dissolve  the  jelly.  Bring  it  to  a  boil,  then 
add  a  teaspoonful  of  either  cornstarch  or  flour  for  a 
thickening,  first  rubbed  smooth  in  a  little  cold  water ; 
let  it  cook  two  or  three  minutes.     To  be  served  cold. 

A  KicE  Dish  (to  be  served  as  a  vegetable). 
Mix  carefully  (not  to  break  the  grains)  in  a  pint  of 
boiled  rice  a  tablespoonful  of  either  minced  parsley  or 
cives ;  put  a  piece  of  butter  size  of  a  pigeon's  Qgg  into 
a  saucepan,  and  let  it  color  a  light  brown  ;  mix  the  rice 
in  the  butter,  and  serve  hot  as  a  vegetable.  A  little 
mound  of  this  rice  may  be  placed  in  the  centre  of  a 
platter,  with  a  row  of  green  pease  around  it. 


CREAMS  AND  FRUITS. 

"Whipped  Ckeam. 

There  is  no  more  wholesome,  nutritious,  and  delicious 
dessert  for  an  invalid  than  whipped  cream,  either  served 
simply  with  a  wafer  biscuit  or  some  very  thin  slices  of 
sponge  cake  (cake  not  very  allowable)  around  to  form 
a  charlotte-russe,  or  with  a  stewed  pear,  peach,  apple,  or 
some  wine  jelly  for  a  centre. 

No  better  ice-cream  can  be  made  than  the  simple  one 
of  wdiipped  cream  frozen.  The  cream  (thick)  is  sweet- 
ened and  flavored  with  any  of  the  flavoring  extracts 
(except  vanilla)  or  any  of  the  sweet  wines  or  liquors. 
It  is  delicious  merely  sweetened.  The  cream  froths 
more  readily  when  quite  cold.  The  cream-whipper  is 
recommended,  yet,  without  this,  vigorous  whipping  with 
a  silver  fork  will  accomplish  the  result.  The  froth,  as 
it  rises,  is  to  be  skimmed  ofl:  and  placed  on  a  sieve ;  that 
in  the  dish  below  is  returned  to  be  re  whipped.  Place 
the  cream  f  rotli,  as  soon  as  all  whipped,  on  the  ice,  to  re- 
main until  served. 

Clabbeeed  Milk  (Dr.  Gatchell). 
Set  a  quantity  of  skimmed  milk  away  in  a  covered 
glass  or  china  dish.  When  it  turns,  i.  e.,  becomes  smooth, 
Arm,  and  jelly-like,  it  is  ready  to  serve.  Do  not  let  it 
stand  until  the  whey  separates  from  the  curd,  or  it  will 
become  acid  or  tough.  Set  it  on  the  ice  for  an  hour  be- 
fore wanted  for  use.     Serve  from  the  dish  in  which  it 


Cottage  Cheese. — Ice-cream,  175 

has  turned.  Cut  out  carefully  with  a  large  spoon,  put 
in  saucers,  and  eat  with  cream  and  nutmeg.  This  is  one 
of  the  most  wholesome  of  dishes,  and  those  to  whom  it 
is  new  soon  acquire  a  taste  for  and  grow  fond  of  it.  To 
be  relished  the  clabber  must  be  new  and  fresh.  It  is 
generally  eaten  with  cream,  sugar,  and  sometimes  nut- 
meg. 

The  clabbered  milk  is  an  excellent  diet  for  some  dys- 
peptics ;  however,  they  should  not  eat  it  with  sugar.  In 
case  the  clabbered  milk  is  not  agreeable  at  first,  begin 
with  a  small  quantity — a  tablespoonful  at  a  time — and 
gradually  a  taste  for  this  very  useful  food  can  be  ac- 
quired. Some  prefer  taking  it  as  a  drink,  beating  it  up 
until  it  becomes  creamy. 

Cottage  Cheese. 

Cottage  cheese  is  made  of  the  curd  left  after  sepa- 
rating the  whey  from  clabbered  milk. 

Tie  the  clabbered  milk  in  a  cloth,  hang  it  (for  in- 
stance overnight)  and  let  the  whey  drain  out. 

Or,  place  a  pan  of  clabbered  milk  over  a  kettle  of 
boiling  water  until  the  whey  becomes  merely  hot.  If 
the  pan  is  placed  directly  on  the  range,  let  the  whey  be- 
come merely  hot  and  no  more.  The  boiling-point  would 
spoil  the  cheese  by  making  it  tough.  The  whey  is  then 
pressed  from  the  curd  and  the  latter  is  mixed  with 
cream  or  butter,  or  both,  and  salt,  making  the  cheese 
rather  moist,  yet  firm  enough  to  mould  into  balls. 

Ice-cream  and  Iced  Peaches. 
Sometimes  ice-cream  is  given  to  a  patient  suffering 
with  a  fever  or  inflammation  of  the  stomach.  The  sim- 
plest and  richest  ice-cream  is  pure  cream  sweetened  to 
taste,  and  flavored  ys\\\\  fleur  d' orange,  extract  of  lemon, 
or  a  very  little  sherry  (never  vanilla),  and  frozen.     It  is 


176  Creams  and  Fruits. 

still  better  to  whip  it  and  freeze  the  whipped  cream. 
If  it  is  desirable  that  the  cream  be  not  so  rich,  a  simple 
frozen  boiled  custard  is  very  good. 

The  custard  is  made  by  adding  the  yolks  of  two  or 
three  eggs,  wxll  beaten,  with  a  tablespoonful  of  sugar  to 
a  pint  of  fresh  milk.  This  is  stirred  in  a  double  boiler, 
or  in  a  tin  pail  placed  in  a  second  vessel  containing  boil- 
ing water,  until  it  just  begins  to  thicken.  It  is  then  re- 
moved at  once  (to  prevent  curdling)  and  seasoned  as  just 
described  for  whipped  cream.  The  iced  custard  is  im- 
proved by  stirring  in  it,  when  partly  congealed  in  the 
freezer,  more  or  less  whipped  cream.  However,  this 
adds  again  to  its  richness.  Chopped  peaches  or  grated 
pineapple  could  also  be  added  at  this  time. 

A  mixture  of  sweetened  fresh  peaches,  pared,  stoned, 
and  quartered,  with  or  without  cream  mixed  with  them, 
and  frozen  in  a  mould  (without  stirring  the  mixture)  is 
also  a  most  delicious  dish  for  a  febrile  sufferer.  I  have 
never  tasted  canned  peaches  or  pears  frozen  in  this  way, 
but  think  they  might  be  satisfactory  if  the  fruit  were 
especially  good. 

Baked  Apples,  etc. 

Nothing  is  more  simple,  wholesome,  and  palatable 
than  a  baked  apple  served  with  cream  and  sugar.  The 
canned  peaches  are  generally  heavy  for  an  invalid  ;  and, 
by  the  way,  tin -canned  tomatoes  and  acid  fruits  are 
forbidden  entirely  by  many  physicians,  the  tin  having 
a  deleterious  effect  on  the  acid  of  the  vegetable  or 
fruit. 

Baked  apples  are  prepared  as  follows :  With  a  sharp- 
pointed  knife,  or  an  apple-corer,  remove  the  cores  with- 
out breaking  the  apples.  Set  them  in  a  pan  just  large 
enough  to  hold  them.  Fill  the  apertures  with  sugar, 
and  for  a  change  a  small  stick  of  cinnamon,  or  the  thin, 


Apple  Sauce. — Pear  Compote.  177 

yellow  slices  of  lemon  rind  can  be  inserted  also.  Pour 
a  half  cnpful  of  water  into  the  pan  and  bake  the  apples 
until  tender.  They  are  oftener  cooked  without  cover, 
yet  are  very  good  covered  with  a  basin  and  allowed  to 
cook  in  the  steam.  For  a  change  the  apples  may  be 
pared.  Serve  with  cream  and  sugar.  Baked  apples 
and  stewed  prunes  are  probably  the  most  wholesome 
sweetmeats  for  an  invalid,  and  can  be  served  at  any 
meal. 

Apple  Sauce. 

Apples  (pippins  especially  good),  neatly  and  evenly 
quartered  (having  already  been  pared  and  cored)  are 
placed  in  a  porcelain  pan  with  enough  cold  water  to 
barely  cover  them.  Sugar  to  taste  is  added,  and  per- 
haps some  raisins,  sometimes  slices  of  lemon,  some- 
times a  few  sticks  of  cinnamon,  each  or  all,  are  added. 
Cook  them  slowly,  and  the  moment  the  apple  quarters 
are  tender  when  pierced  with  a  fork,  they  are  done, 
ready  to  be  poured  into  some  pretty  glass  dish,  and  al- 
lowed to  get  cold  before  serving. 

Sometimes  the  apple  is  stirred  into  a  half  puree,  or 
pulp,  and  sometimes  it  is  passed  through  the  sieve. 

A  good  apple  sauce  is  made  by  adding  to  the  apple 
which  has  been  passed  through  the  sieve,  and  sweet- 
ened to  taste,  the  beaten  whites  of  eggs  just  before  it 
is  served — say  the  wliites  of  two  eggs  stiffly  beaten,  to  a 
pint  of  apple  pulp. 

Pear  or  other  Fruit  Compote. 
A  compote  is  merely  the  fruit  (pear,  peach,  apple, 
plum,  etc.)  boiled  whole  with  only  enough  water  to 
cover  it,  and  sweetened  to  taste.  The  fruit  is  only 
cooked  until  tender.  Pears  are  generally  selected  for 
compotes  when  not  quite  ripe. 

The  California  dried  pears,  stewed  until  tender,  and 
8* 


178 


Creams  and  Fruits. 


sweetened  to  taste,  are 
most  excellent  for  our 
invalid  when  the  fresh 
pears  cannot  be  obtained. 
Compotes  are  often 
served  with  a  circle  of 
rice  (boiled  in  milk) 
around,  or  the  rice  may 
be  in  the  centre  and  the 
fruit  placed  around  it. 

Sea-moss  Blanc-mange. 
Wash  one  and  a  half  ounces  of  Iceland  or  Irish  moss 
in  cold  water,  then  place  it  over  the  fire  in  a  cupful 
(one  half  pint)  of  fresh,  cold  water.  Stir  it  occasionally 
until  soft ;  add  then  one  and  a  half  cupfuls  of  warm 
milk  and  three  lumps  of  sugar.  Place  the  little  sauce- 
pan containing  these  ingredients  into  a  second  larger 
saucepan  half  filled  with  boiling  water,  and  let  the  wa- 
ter boil  until  the  moss  is  entirely  dissolved.  Pour  this 
into  teacups  or  little  moulds  previously  wet  with  cold 
water.  Turn  them  from  the  moulds  when  hardened 
and  ready  to  serve,  and  serve  each  mould  with  three  or 
four  tablespoon fuls  of  cream  poured  around,  and,  per- 
haps, a  preserved  strawberry  half  buried  on  top ;  or  a 
fruit  compote  of  any  kind  can  be  poured  around  the 
blanc-mange. 

CoRNSTAKCii  Blanc-mange. 
Allow  three  tablespoonfuls,  or  three  quarters  of  a 
cupful,  of  Diiryea's  cornstarch  to  a  quart  of  milk.  Stir 
enough  of  the  cold  milk  into  the  cornstarch  to  make  a 
soft,  smooth  paste  ;  bring  the  remainder  of  the  milk  to 
the  boiling-point,  stir  in  the  paste,  and  boil  it  about 
three  minutes,  taking  care  that  it  does  not  burn.     Pour 


CharloUe-russe,  179 

it  into  cups  or  moulds  previously  wet  with  cold  water, 
and  set  it  in  a  cold  place  to  harden.  Serve  with  sweet- 
ened cream  or  a  little  soft-boiled  custard,  and  a  couple 
of  preserved  strawberries  for  a  garnish. 

CiTARLOTTE-EUSSE. 

The  charlotte -russe  made  after  this  receipt  is  un- 
doubtedly one  of  the  very  best  ever  made. 

Bring  a  cupful,  or  half  a  pint,  of  milk  almost  to  the 
boiling-point,  and  then  stir  in  the  yolks  of  four  eggs, 
previously  well  beaten,  with  three  tablespoonfuls  of 
sugar.  Stir  this  carefully  over  the  fire  (in  a  double 
kettle)  making  a  boiled  custard.  Care  must  be  taken 
that  it  does  not  curdle,  or  become  too  thick.  Take  it 
from  the  fire  and  add  to  it  a  quarter  of  a  boxful  of 
gelatine,  previously  soaked  with  enough  milk  to  cover 
it  in  a  cup,  and  dissolved,  by  setting  it  at  the  side  of 
tlie  fire.  Add  also,  when  the  custard  is  a  little  cooled, 
two  or  three  tablespoonfuls,  of  best  sherry  wine  for  a 
flavoring.  Set  this  custard  on  ice,  or  in  a  cold  place, 
until  partly  congealed,  and  then  stir  into  it,  evenly  and 
carefully,  a  quart  of  cream  whipped  to  a  stiff  froth. 

This  can  be  poured  into  either  a  charlotte  pan,  or 
little  paper  cases  (page  153),  lined  with  lady-fingers,  or 
into  a  pretty  glass  dish  with  a  row  of  lady -fingers 
around  the  sides,  and  then  it  is  served  in  the  same  disli. 

If  sponge  cake  is  objectionable  for  the  invalid,  the 
creamy  custard,  which  is  simple  and  wholesome  enough 
for  almost  any  one,  can  be  served  alone,  in  the  paper 
cases. 


CUSTARDS. 

Plain  Baked  Custakd  (very  good). 
A  PLAIN  custard  may  be  made  with  a  pint  of  milk, 
either  two  whole  eggs  or  the  yolks  of  three  eggs,  and  a 
couple  of  tablespoonf  uls  of  sugar.  It  can  be  flavored  with 
a  little  nutmeg  or  extract  of  lemon.  It  is  very  good 
without  flavoring.  The  eggs  and  sugar  are  well  beaten 
together  before  the  milk  is  added.  It  is  poured  into  a 
small  pudding  dish  or  basin,  and  this  is  set  in  a  larger 
basin  containing  hot  water,  which  reaches  three  fourths 
to  the  top  of  the  pudding  dish.  The  two  vessels,  one 
in  the  other,  are  then  placed  in  the  oven  until  the  cus- 
tard is  set  (about  twent}^  minutes).  As  soon  as  it  is  set 
it  is  done,  and  should  not  be  left  to  allow  the  whey  to 
separate.     This  is  the  very  best  way  to  bake  custards. 

CusTAED  A  LA  MoERisoN  (a  dclicious  custard). 
Make  a  boiled  custard  with  a  pint  of  milk,  the  yolks 
of  three  eggs  (if  small),  and  a  tablespoonful  of  sugar. 

The  yolks  and  sug- 
ar are  beaten  to- 
gether, the  milk 
added  when  warm, 
and  the  whole 
cooked  in  the 
double  boiler.  It 
must  be  stirred  constantly  while  cooking,  and  the  in- 
stant watched  when  it  is  of  exactly  the  right  thickness, 


Custards,  181 

resembling  rather  thick  cream.  If  allowed  to  remain  a 
moment  too  long  it  curdles  and  is  spoiled.  A  c^^^  tells 
me,  however,  that  if  a  custard  or  puree  soup  begins  to 
curdle  it  can  be  stopped  by  pouring  in  quickly  a  little 
cold  milk  or  water,  and  stirring  very  regularly  for  a  few 
minutes.  When  the  smooth  boiled  custard  is  cold.f  and 
flavored  with  anything  but  vanilla,  the  whites  of  the 
eggs,  beaten  to  a  stiff  froth,  are  mixed  in  smoothly  with 
the  egg  whisk. 

"The  top  of  the  custard  may  be  decorated  with  a  little 
of  the  egg  froth  mixed  with  a  little  bright  red  jelly, 
with  the  aid  of  a  paper  funnel  or  meringue  decorator, 
or  the  white,  for  decorating,  may  be  stirred  with  zest,  or 
thin  slices  of  lemon  peel  (without  white),  and  slightly 
sweetened.  This  will  give  a  delicate  green  color  to  the 
meringue  as  well  as  a  delicious  flavor.  The  lemon 
strips  are  to  be  removed.  The  custard  should  be  served 
soon  after  the  beaten  white  of  the  egg  is  mixed  in,  as 
the  egg  froth  is  not  cooked. 

Tapioca  ok  Sago  Custaed 
is  merely  an  addition  to  a  plain  custard  (before  it  is 
baked)  of  more  or  less  tapioca  or  sago  after  it  has  been 
soaked  an  hour  or  more  in  hot  water. 

The  two  following  are  from  Gouffe's  "Keceipts  for 
the  Sick,"  called  by  him  '' Petit  pot  de  creme^  au  cafe^'' 
and  ''''Au  chocolate  It  may  not  taste  as  well  under  the 
common  name  of 

A  Cup  of  Coffee  Custakd. 
Beat  well  in  a  coffee  cup  or  small  fancy  pudding  dish 
the  yolks  of  two  fresh  eggs  and  a  teaspoonful  of  sugar. 
Then  mix  into  it  four  tablespoonfuls  each   of  fresh- 
made,  clear  coffee,  and  milk.     Set  the  cup  into  a  basin 


182  Custards. 

of  liot  water  so  that  the  water  will  reach  nearly  to  the 
top  of  the  cup;  put  this  into  the  oven  and  cook  about 
fifteen  minutes,  or  until  the  custard  is  set  without  cur- 
dling.    To  be  served  hot  or  cold. 

A  Cup  of  Chocolate  Custakd. 
Put  a  heaping  teaspoonful  of  grated  chocolate  with 
two  tablespoonf  uls  of  milk,  and  stir  it  over  the  fire  until 
perfectly  smooth;  then  add  six  tablespoonfuls  of  rich 
milk,  and  also  the  yolks  of  two  eggs  which  have  been 
well  beaten,  with  a  teaspoonful  of  sugar.  Cook  the 
same  as  coffee  custard,  and  serve  either  hot  or  cold. 

Granulated  ob  Ceushed  Barley,  Oat,  or  Wheat 
Custard. 

The  grain  is  thrown  into  salted  boiling  water  and 
cooked  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes,  or  until  thoroughly 
done.  It  is  then  drained,  and  a  few  tablespoonfuls  (the 
custard  should  not  be  too  thick  with  the  grain)  are 
added  to  a  plain  baked  custard  (page  180),  before  it  is 
baked.  Or  the  cooked  grain  can  be  substituted  for  rice 
in  rice  pudding  No.  2  (page  171). 

Rennet  Custard. 

A  very  palatable  and  digestible  dish  for  an  invalid. 

Sweeten  some  milk  to  taste ;  place  it  over  the  fire 
until  lukewarm ;  remove  it  from  the  fire  and  mix  in  it 
thoroughly  some  liquid  rennet  (it  comes  prepared  for 
custards,  and  can  be  purchased  at  the  druggist's),  in  the 
proportion  of  a  tablespoonful  of  rennet  to  a  quart  of 
milk,  in  summer — perhaps  a  very  little  more  rennet  in 
winter.  Let  the  milk  stand  lukewarm  until  a  quite  con- 
sistent curd  is  formed,  then  put  it  in  a  cold  place  until 
served. 

The  milk  should  be  prepared  in  the  dish  in  which  it 


Caramel  Custards.  183 

is  to  be  served  ;  for,  if  it  is  disturbed,  the  wliey  will  sepa- 
rate, which  must  be  avoided.  It  is  served  with  a  little 
cream,  or  whipped  cream  poured  over,  and  perhaps  gar- 
nished with  a  preserved  strawberry  or  two  on  top. 

Sometimes  the  milk  might  be  flavored  with  a  very 
little  brandy,  rum,  curagoa,  or  maraschino  before  the  ren- 
net is  added. 

Caramel  Custard. 

Make  the  caramel  by  putting  two  tablespoonfuls  of 
brown  sugar  and  a  teaspoonful  of  water  over  the  fire 
and  stirring  it  until  it  gets  a  quite  dark  brown — not 
black;  then  add  a  dessertspoonful  of  water.  It  will 
make  a  thick  syrup.  Pour  this  into  the  bottom  of  two 
cups  or  little  fancy  moulds,  and  turn  it  around  until  it 
covers  the  bottom  and  sides. 

For  the  custard,  beat  well  three  eggs  (yolks  and 
whites),  with  a  teaspoonful  of  white  sugar  and  the  very 
thin  yellow  cuts  of  a  lemon ;  then  stir  in  a  cupful  of 
milk  or  thin  cream  which  has  been  brought  to  the  scald- 
ing-point (not  boiling)  over  the  fire. 

Fill  the  cups  or  moulds  (previously  lined  with  the 
caramel)  with  the  custard;  place  them  in  a  basin  of 
hot  water,  the  water  reaching  nearly  to  the  top  of  the 
moulds,  and  bake  them  in  the  oven  until  the  custard  is 
set,  or  feels  firm  to  the  finger — no  longer.  They  will 
set  in  twelve  or  fifteen  minutes.  The  custards  may  be 
served  either  hot  or  cold — although  they  are  generally 
served  cold — turned  from  the  mould  when  just  ready  to 
be  served. 


JELLIES. 

Wine   Jelly. 

Ingeedients  :  One  box  of  gelatine,  soaked  in  one  pint 
of  clear,  cold  water,  one  pint  of  wine,  the  juice  and  the 
thin  cuts  of  the  rinds  of  three  lemons,  one  and  a  quarter 
pounds  of  sugar  (or  according  to  taste),  one  quart  of 
clear  boiling  water,  the  whites  of  two  eggs  (well  beat- 
en) and  the  shells,  and  a  small  stick  of  cinnamon. 

Soak  the  gelatine  in  the  pint  of  cold  water  an  hour, 
then  pour  over  it  the  quart  of  boiling  water,  stirring  it 
well ;  now  add  the  wine,  sugar,  lemon  juice  (strained  in 
a  fine  strainer),  and  the  thinnest  possible  cuts  from  the 
peels  of  the  lemons.  These  cuts  take  only  the  little 
globules  of  oil  in  the  peel,  which  are  exceedingly  deli- 
cate in  flavor,  the  white  being  bitter.  Add,  also,  the 
small  stick  of  cinnamon,  as  it  adds  much  to  the  flavor 
of  the  jelly.  Put  this  into  a  porcelain  kettle;  let  it 
boil  rapidly  about  a  quarter  of  a  minute  without  stirring 
it ;  now,  setting  the  kettle  on  the  hearth,  let  it  remain 
another  half-minute  to  settle ;  then  skim  off  carefully 
the  scum  which  is  on  the  top,  and  pour  it  through  the 
jelly-bag.  It  should  be  entirely  clear ;  if,  however,  the 
first  should  not  be  so,  return  it  to  the  bag.  Cold  water 
should  be  poured  into  the  moulds,  then  emptied  just  be- 
fore using.  Jelly  hardens  much  quicker  on  ice,  or  in 
the  coolest  place  to  be  found.  Dip  the  moulds  into  warm 
water  a  moment  before  taking  out  the  jelly.  If  al- 
lowed to  remain  a  moment  too  long  the  jelly  might  dis- 
solve too  much  and  injure  the  form. 


Wine,  Coffee,  and  Currant  Jellies.  185 

Many  kinds  of  wines  and  liquors  may  be  used.  The 
above  receipt  is  well-proportioned  for  sherry,  cham- 
pagne, madeira,  or  port.  A  smaller  proportion  of  bran- 
dy, maraschino,  noyau,  or  of  punch  would  make  suffi- 
cient flavoring. 

Wine  Jelly  (without  cooking). 

Ingredients :  one  pint  (two  cnpfuls)  of  wine ;  one  pint 
of  sugar;  one  pint  of  cold  water;  one  pint  of  boiling 
water ;  half  a  package  of  gelatine ;  two  lemons. 

Add  the  gelatine  to  the  clear,  cold  water,  and  let  it 
soak  for  an  hour  or  more ;  dissolve  the  sugar  in  the  hot 
water,  and  when  it  is  boiling  stir  it  into  the  soaked  gel- 
atine; add  the  strained  lemon  juice  and  the  thin,  yel- 
low cuts  of  the  peel,  and,  when  all  is  dissolved,  the  wine. 
Strain  through  a  flannel  cloth  or  bag  or  a  napkin,  with- 
out pressing  it.  If  in  a  hurry  for  the  gelatine,  it  will 
dissolve  quicker  if  set  in  a  warm  place.  In  hot  weather 
it  is  advisable  to  use  a  little  more  gelatine  than  in  cold 
weather,  or  as  in  receipt.  If  brandy  or  rum  is  used, 
half  the  quantity  mentioned  for  wine  would  be  taken, 
or  enough  could  be  poured  in  to  suit  the  taste. 

Coffee  Jelly. 
Soak  three  quarters  of  a  box  of  gelatine  (either  Cox's 
or  Cooper's,  or  ten  sheets  of  the  common  gelatine)  in  a 
pint  of  cold  water  until  dissolved ;  then  add  a  pint  of 
boiling  water,  two  cupfuls  of  sugar,  and  one  pint  of 
clear,  strong  (so  the  chef  said)  coffee.  But  the  coffee 
need  not  be  so  very  strong.  Mould  it.  Surround  cof- 
fee jelly,  when  on  the  platter  ready  to  be  served,  with 
whipped  cream. 

CuKEANT  Jelly. 
Pick  out  the  leaves  from  the  currants,  but  it  is  not 


186  Jellies  and  Preserms. 

necessary  to  be  particular  about  all  the  stems.  Mash  the 
currants  with  a  potato  masher,  and  cook  them  enough  to 
merely  free  the  juice,  without  adding  any  water.  Strain 
the  juice,  and  allow  one  pound  of  sugar  for  one  pound 
of  juice.  Boil  the  juice  fifteen  minutes  after  measur- 
ing it,  and  then  take  it  from  the  fire,  and  add  the  sugar, 
allowing  it  to  dissolve  without  further  boiling  or  cook- 
ing of  the  juice.  When  the  sugar  is  well  dissolved  and 
mixed  in  the  juice,  pour  it  into  glasses.  Fasten  over 
the  covers  when  the  jelly  has  hardened. 

Currants  should  not  be  picked  just  after  a  rain. 

CUEEANT    PeESEEVES. 

Allow  one  pound  of  sugar  to  one  pound  of  currants. 
Free  the  currants  from  the  stems,  and  cook  them  fifteen 
minutes ;  then  add  the  sugar  and  a  few  raisins,  and,  as 
soon  as  it  comes  to  the  boiling-point  again,  seal  them 
tightly  in  glass  jars. 

Oeange  Maemalade. 

This  marmalade  furnishes  one  of  the  best  and  cheap- 
est comfitures  which  can  be  made  in  the  large  cities,  and 
a  very  little  of  it,  used  for  garnishing  a  blanc-mange, 
etc.,  or  for  spreading  on  bread-and-butter,  is  not  un- 
wholesome for  a  convalescent.  It  is  made  in  January 
or  February,  when  oranges  are  cheap,  and  the  expense 
will  not  be  over  fifteen  or  twenty  cents  a  glass. 

Allow  one  lemon  to  six  oranges.  Quarter  the  skins, 
and  boil  them  slowly  two  hours  and  a  half ;  then  scrape 
out  the  soft  pulp  from  the  inside  to  be  thrown  away,  and 
cut  the  outside  skins  into  shreds.  Squeeze  all  the  juice 
possible  from  the  fruit ;  weigh  the  juice  and  skin  shreds 
together,  and  allow  three  fourths  of  a  pound  of  sugar 
to  a  pound  of  fruit.  When  the  fruit  and  sugar  are 
mixed,  let  them  simmer  for  an  hour.     If  one  prefer, 


Strawberry  Preserves.  187 

the  whole  pulp  of  the  fruit  may  also  be  added.  It  does 
not  make  so.  clear  a  preserve,  yet  it  is  added  in  the 
Dundee  marmalade. 

Stkawberry  Pkbserves. 
Allow  three  fourths  of  a  pound  of  sugar  to  a  pound  of 
fruit.  Let  the  sugar  simmer  twenty  minutes,  adding 
perhaps  a  tablespoonful  of  water  to  start  it;  then  add 
the  strawberries ;  let  them  come  merely  to  a  boil ;  then 
cover,  and  place  them  at  the  back  of  the  range  to  steam 
1^YQ  minutes.  Put  them  into  glass  jars  while  still  scald- 
ing hot,  and  seal  them  hermetically. 


PUDDINGS,  ETC. 

Corn  Cottage  Pudding. 

Ingredients:  One  cupful  of  cornmeal  flour;  half  a 
cupful  of  sugar ;  one  cupful  of  milk ;  one  tablespoonful 
of  lard  (size  of  small  egg) ;  three  eggs ;  one  teaspoonf  ul 
of  baking-powder ;  a  little  salt. 

Mix  the  baking-powder  and  salt  well  into  the  flour, 
then  add  the  sugar  and  yolks  of  the  eggs  w^ell  beaten  to- 
gether), tlie  lard  (melted),  and  lastly  the  milk,  and  the 
whites  of  the  eggs  which  have  been  beaten  to  a  stiff 
froth.  Mix  this  smoothly,  pour  it  immediately  into  a 
buttered  round  tin  basin  and  bake  about  twenty  minutes. 
Take  care  to  have  the  cake  baked  just  in  time  to  be 
served.  It  is  to  be  eaten  hot  with  a  liquid  sauce.  The 
following  is  a  simple  one. 

Plain  Pudding  Sauce. 

Ingredients:  One  pint  of  water  (two  cupfuls);  three 
fourths  of  a  cupful  of  sugar;  a  piece  of  butter  the  size 
of  a  walnut;  a  tablespoonful  of  either  cornstarch  or 
flour ;  flavoring  of  either  brandy,  rum,  lemon,  or  wine 
(with  or  without  a  little  nutmeg),  or  zest  and  cinnamon. 

When  the  water  boils,  stir  in  the  cornstarch  or  flour 
(rubbed  smooth  with  a  little  cold  water)  and  also  the  sug- 
ar. Boil  it  well  for  four  or  five  minutes,  to  thoroughly 
cook  the  cornstarch  or  flour.  Take  it  then  from  the 
fire,  and  stir  in  the  butter  and  flavoring. 

This  is  a  good-enough  plain  sauce ;  it  is  improved, 


Graham-flour  Pudding. — Farina  Pudding.    189 

however,  by  adding  the  well-beaten  whites  of  one  or 
two  eggs,  and  stirring  it  well  with  the  eg^  w^hisk  for  a 
minute  over  the  fire  to  set  the  ^gg  and  make  the  sauce 
quite  smooth. 

Geaham-floue  Pudding. 

Ingredients :  One  and  a  half  cupf  uls  of  Graham  flour ; 
half  a  cupful  of  molasses ;  a  fourth  of  a  cupful  of  but- 
ter ;  half  a  cupful  of  sweet  milk ;  one  egg ;  an  even  tea- 
spoonful  of  soda ;  three  quarters  of  a  cupful  of  English 
currants,  or  raisins  (or  mixed). 

Into  the  flour  pour  the  molasses,  the  butter  partly 
melted,  the  egg  (beaten),  and  the  fruit.  Mix  all  evenly 
together,  then  add  the  soda,  dissolved  in  the  milk. 
Steam  two  and  a  half  or  three  hours. 

A  double  tin  pail  (see  cut,  p.  85)  is  best  adapted  for 
steaming.  The  water  in  it  should  be  boiling  when  the 
pudding  is  first  placed  in  it,  and  when  it  needs  replen- 
ishing lolling  water  should  be  added,  so  that  it  should 
at  no  time  stop  boiling.  Serve  with  plain  sauce  (see 
page  188). 

Fakina  Pudding. 

Ingredients:  One  pint  of  milk;  three  quarters  of  a 
coffee-cupful  of  farina;  half  a  cupful  of  sugar;  butter 
the  size  of  an  egg ;  the  thin  yellow  cuts  of  the  peel  of 
a  lemon  ;  four  eggs. 

When  the  milk  is  just  boiling  add  the  farina,  and  af- 
ter it  has  cooked  a  few  minutes  stir  in  the  sugar,  lemon 
peel,  and  butter;  let  it  cook  slowly  half  an  hour,  then 
take  it  from  the  fire,  and,  when  slightly  cooled,  stir  in 
smoothly  the  yolks  of  two  eggs.  Take  out  the  lemon 
strips.  When  the  mixture  is  quite  cold,  stir  in  lightly 
the  whites  of  the  four  eggs,  beaten  to  a  stiff  froth,  and 
put  it  in  a  high  mould  or  long  tin  pail,  prepared  as 


190  Puddings,  etc. 

follows  :  Butter  the  inside  with  a  glazing  brush,  throw 
in  a  handful  of  sugar,  and  leave  in  the  mould  all  tlie 
sugar  that  will  stick  to  the  sides ;  tlien  add  the  pudding 
and  place  the  mould  in  a  basin  of  water,  the  water 
reaching  about  half  or  three  quarters  to  the  top  of  the 
mould.  Let  it  cook  {au  hain  marie)  on  the  top  of  the 
range  for  ten  minutes ;  then  put  all  (basin  of  water  as 
well)  in  the  oven  to  bake  for  an  hour.  Serve  immedi- 
ately with  currant-jellj  sauce  or  Sauce  Burke  (page  191). 

QuioGUE  Pudding. 

Ingredients  :  Five  of  the  ordinar}^  Boston  soda  crack- 
ers, or  three  fourths  of  a  cupful  when  rolled ;  a  quarter 
of  a  cupful  of  flour;  two  eggs;  a  generous  half  cupful 
of  milk. 

Roll  the  crackers,  stir  in  the  milk,  then  the  flour,  and 
eggs  (beaten  separately).  Cover  it  tightly  in  a  mould  or 
small  tin  pail,  and  boil  it  half  an  hour  in  a  large  vessel 
of  boiling  water.  Serve  with  a  hard  sauce  of  butter  and 
sugar  rubbed  to  a  cream  with  nutmeg  sprinkled  over, 
or  with  Sauce  Burke  or  a  currant-jelly  sauce.  How- 
ever, any  of  the  pudding  sauces  will  answer. 

Macakoni  Pudding 
is  merely  a  baked   custard   pudding  (page  180)  with 
a  quarter  or  half  as  much  fresh,  boiled  macaroni  added 
as  there  is  custard.     Of  course  the  macaroni  is  added 
before  the  custard  is  baked. 

Fine  Granulated- wheat  Pudding. 

Ingredients:  a  scant  half  cupful  of  the  wheat;  one 
cupful  of  milk ;  two  eggs ;  butter  size  of  a  small  hickory 
nut ;  pinch  of  salt. 

Bring  the  milk  to  a  boil,  then  add  the  wheat  and  salt, 
and  cook  about  five  minutes.     Take  it  from  the  fire,  and 


Sauce  Burke. — Swuce  Gidllod.  191 

add  the  yolks  (beaten)  and  the  butter.  Let  it  get  quite 
cold,  then  add  the  whites  of  the  eggs,  beaten  to  a  stiff 
froth.  Place  it  immediately  in  the  oven,  to  cook  about 
twenty  minutes. 

In  cooking  all  souffle  puddings  the  oven  should  be 
hot,  and  for  the  first  two  or  three  minutes  after  the  pud- 
ding is  in,  the  oven-door  should  be  slightly  opened,  so 
that  the  pudding  can  become  evenly  heated  through, 
before  it  begins  to  rise.  The  pudding  can  be  served 
with  or  without  a  sauce ;  how^ever,  a  sauce  is  an  im- 
provement, and  the  following  might  be  selected. 

Sauce  Bueke  (a  delicious  pudding  sauce). 
Bring  a  pint  of  milk  to  the  boiling-point,  and  tlien 
stir  in  a  generous  teaspoon ful  of  cornstarch,  previously 
rubbed  smooth  with  a  little  of  the  cold  milk ;  add  also 
a  tablespoonful  of  sugar.  Let  it  cook  for  two  or  three 
minutes  to  thoroughly  cook  the  starch,  and  then  let  the 
mixture  get  entirely  cold.  Flavor  it  with  sherry  or  any 
of  the  flavorings,  and  just  before  serving  stir  in  evenly 
the  whites  of  two  eggs  beaten  to  a  stiif  froth.  As  the 
Qg^  froth  is  not  cooked,  the  sauce  will  not  keep  very 
long  at  its  best,  perhaps  half  an  hour. 

Sauce  Guillod. 
Wliip  the  whites  of  two  eggs  to  a  very  stiff  froth  ;  the 
froth  of  one  ^gg  should  more  than  fill  a  goblet  if 
properly  whipped.  In  a  small  saucepan  put  two  table- 
spoonfuls  of  granulated  sugar,  with  two  tablespoonfuls 
of  water;  let  it  cook  without  stirring  for  three  or  four 
minutes,  or  until  it  forms  a  syrup,  not  quite  thick  enough 
to  candy.  It  must  be  w^atched  carefully,  then  add  the 
^gg  froth,  which  stir  in  with  an  Qgg  whip  quite  vigorous- 
ly for  a  minute  at  the  side  of  the  fire.  Stirring  will 
c:ive  the  froth  a  fine  ccrain.     Take  it  from  the  rantre 


192  PuddingSy  etc, 

and  add  enough  fresh  lemon  juice  to  take  away  the  ex- 
cessive sweetness  of  the  meririgue. 

Othek  Souffle  or  Puffed  Puddings. 
The  last-named  pudding  (fine  granulated  wheat)  can 
be  made  as  w^ell  with  rice,  farina,  granulated  oats,  gran- 
ulated barley,  etc.  It  is  especially  good  made  with 
crushed  barley.  The  barley  must  be  well  boiled  in 
water  (twenty  minutes)  before  it  is  added  to  the  milk, 

etc. 

Barley  Pudding  (simple). 

Ingredients :  Two  cupf uls  hot  milk ;  half  cupful  of 
barley  ;  one  tablespoonf ul  sugar ;  a  pinch  of  salt.  Into 
the  pint  of  hot  milk  stir  the  barley.  Season  with  a 
pinch  of  salt;  add  a  tablespoonf  ul  of  sugar,  and  place 
it  in  the  oven  for  about  twenty  minutes;  stir  it  oc- 
casionally until  the  barley  is  swelled,  then  add  half  a 
cupful  of  extra  hot  milk  and  let  it  bake  slowly  for  an 
hour. 

Orange  Puddings  a  la  Mutreux. 

Soak  a  cupful  of  stale  bread  in  half  a  cupful  of  milk 
until  it  can  be  beaten  to  a  pulp ;  mix  with  it  the  grated 
rind  of  one  orange,  the  juice  of  two,  sugar  to  taste,  and 
the  yolks  of  two  raw  eggs ;  butter  six  small  cups,  and 
set  them  in  a  pan  of  hot  water ;  then  beat  the  whites  of 
two  eggs  to  a  stiff  froth,  mix  them  lightly  with  the 
other  ingredients,  partly  fill  the  cups,  and  bake  the  pud- 
dings until  the  e^g  is  done,  in  a  moderate  oven :  about 
fifteen  or  twenty  minutes  will  be  required;  serve  the 
puddings  hot. 

Lemon  (health-food)  Pie  or  Pudding. 
For  two  pics,  rub  until  smooth   two  heaping  table- 
spoonfuls  of  granulated  wheat  or  barley  and  one  table- 
spoonful  of  cornstarch  (a  scant  three  quarters  of  a  cup- 


Graham  Sponge  Cake.  193 

ful  all  together)  with  six  tablespoonf  iils  (a  scant  Iialf  cup- 
ful) of  cold  water.  Add  to  this  two  cupfuls  of  boiling 
water,  and  let  it  sitnrner  over  the  fire  three  or  four  min- 
utes, until  the  flour  is  thoroughly  cooked.  Take  it  off 
the  fire,  and  when  partly  cooled  add  the  yolks  of  three 
eggs,  beaten  with  one  and  a  half  cupfuls  of  sugar  to  a 
froth,  a  piece  of  butter  the  size  of  a  black-walnut,  and  the 
grated  rind  and  juice  of  a  large  lemon.  Bake  with  un- 
der crusts,  and  when  done  spread  over  the  top  the  beat- 
en whites  of  three  eggs,  with  a  heaping  teaspoonful  of 
sugar  added  (after  they  are  beaten),  and  color  in  the 
oven. 

The  pie  is  much  more  attractive  if  the  meringue  is 
put  on  in  fancy  design,  with  a  paper  funnel  (made  of 
thick  writing-paper  and  a  pin)  or  the  meringue  deco- 
rator. The  G2^g  froth  should  be  slightly  sweetened,  and 
flavored  by  stirring  in  the  yellow  cuts  of  lemon  peel, 
which  are  afterwards  removed.  The  lemon  peel  gives 
delicate  flavor  as  well  as  color  to  the  meringue. 

The  pie-paste  can  be  made  more  wholesome  by  using 
very  little  lard  or  butter  and  a  small  portion  of  baking- 
powder.  Or,  the  paste  may  be  made  with  half  Graham 
flour  (sifted)  and  half  white  flour,  a  little  baking-pow- 
der, and  mixed  with  cream.  The  crust  may  be  rubbed 
over  with  a  little  of  the  beaten  white  of  an  e^g  before 
the  custard  is  added,  which  will  prevent  it  from  soaking 
into  the  crust.  The  custard  may  be  baked  in  a  little 
pudding  dish  without  pie  crust. 

Graham  Sponge  Cake. 
Ingredients:  six  eggs;  three  cupfuls  sugar ;  four  cup- 
fuls flour  (sifted  Graham  flour  recommended) ;  one  cup- 
ful of  cold  w^ater;  two  teaspoonfuls  of  baking-powder; 
juice  and  grated  rind  of  half  a  lemon  ;  a  little  salt. 
Mix  the  yeast  powder  and  salt  well  into  the  flour, 
9 


194  Puddings^  etc. 

sifting  it  once  or  twice ;  stir  the  yolks  and  sugar  to  a 
froth ;  add  first  to  the  flonr,  etc.,  the  yolks  and  sugar, 
and  then  the  egg  whites  (beaten  to  a  stiff  froth),  and 
then  the  lemon  and  water.  The  materials  should  be  all 
ready,  viz.,  the  pans  buttered,  the  flour  and  sugar  sift- 
ed, the  lemon  grated,  strained,  etc.,  so  that  no  time  will 
be  lost  in  mixing  them  together  and  getting  them  quick- 
ly into  the  oven. 

For  robust  persons  a  sponge  cake  is  often  covered 
with  a  wafer  thickness  of  icing,  made  by  stirring  a  heap- 
ing cupful  of  pulverized  sugar  into  the  white  of  an  agg 
(not  previously  beaten),  and  flavored  with  lemon,  va- 
nilla, or  rum,  etc. 


BILLS  OF  FARE  FOR   CONVALESCENTS. 

The  following  bills  of  fare  are  given  for  the  purpose 
of  suggestion,  although  the  diet  is  a  hearty  one  and  only- 
calculated  for  patients  taking  a  certain  amount  of  exer- 
cise and  requiring  a  generous  diet. 

An  invalid  confined  to  the  bed  should  be  satisfied 
with  very  little  sweets,  and  a  breakfast  or  tea  consisting 
only  of  an  oatmeal  or  farina  porridge  and  cream,  cracked 
wheat  and  cream,  a  slice  of  Boston  brown  bread,  or  toast- 
ed Graham  bread  and  cream,  cornmeal  mush  and  milk, 
rice  and  milk,  poached  e^g  or  raw  egg,  a  plain  dish  of 
macaroni,  a  cream  soup,  any  of  the  gruels,  a  custard  with 
Graham  bread,  a  souffle  pudding  of  barley,  granulated 
wheat,  Graham  flour,  etc.,  any  of  the  rice  dishes,  or 
other  single  dish  as  simple  and  nutritious  as  these,  with 
a  simple  accompaniment  of  bread  and  apple  sauce,  or 
fruit  compote,  and  a  cup  of  hot  water,  grape  juice,  or 
fresh  koumiss  for  a  beverage. 

Breakfast  (at  8  o'clock). 

Cracked  Wheat  Mould  and  Cream, 

Bread  Sippets, 

Cup  Hot  Water  with  Sugar  and  Cream  (better  than  tea  or 

coffee.) 

Dinner  (at  1  or  2  o'clock). 

A  Slice  of  Rare  Roast  Beef,  or  Broiled  Beefsteak, 

A  Baked  Potato,  Apple  Sauce, 

A  Chocolate  Custard. 


196  Bills  of  Fare, 

Tea  (at  6  o'clock). 
Kice  Cone  with  Hot  Sauce, 
Graham  Bread,  Grape  Juice. 


Breakfast. 

A  Slice  of  Boston  Brown  Bread  with  Cream  poured  over, 

A  Poached  Egg  on  Toast, 

Cup  of  Hot  AVater. 

Dinner. 

A  Fricassee  of  Chicken,  Potatoes  a  la  Creme, 

Lettuce  dressed  with  the  Sauce  of  the  Fricassee  and  a  few 

drops  of  Vinegar, 

Graham-flour  Pudding,  Sauce  Burke. 

Tea. 

A  Small  Dish  of  Macaroni  and  Tomato  Sauce, 
A  Pear  Compote. 


Breakfast. 
Oatmeal  Porridge, 
Oysters  on  Toast, 
Cup  of  Chocolate. 

Dinner. 

A  Lamb  or  Mutton  Chop  with  Mashed  Potatoes, 

Spinach  on  Toast, 

Macaroni  Padding. 

Tea. 
Cornmeal  Mush  and  Milk. 


Breakfast. 

A  Chicken  Croquette  with  Pease  around. 

Milk  Toast  of  Graham  Bread, 

Cup  of  IJot  Water. 


Bills  of  Fare,  197 

Dinner. 

Cream  of  Asparagus,  or  Rice,  Barley,  etc., 

Boiled  Fish,  Carrots  a  la  Creme, 

Baked  Potatoe,  a  Banana,  Grape  Juice. 

Tea. 

Barley  Pudding,  Sauce  Burke, 
Cup  of  Hot  Water. 


Breakfast. 

A  Sweetbread  with  Rice  around.  Cream  Sauce, 

Oatmeal  Porridge. 

Dinner. 

Boiled  Chicken  and  Macaroni, 

Stewed  Corn, 

Farina  Pudding. 

Tea. 

Hard  Graham  Rolls, 

Grape  Juice, 

Custard  a  la  3Iorrison. 


Breakfast. 

Boiled  Eggs, 

Baked  Apple  and  Cream. 

Corn  Bread. 

Dinner. 

A  Breast  of  Prairie  Chicken,  Mashed  Potatoes, 

Stuffed  Tomatoes,* 

Corn  Cottage  Pudding. 

Tea. 

Cracked  Wheat  and  Cream. 


198  Bills  of  Fare. 

Breakfast. 

Farina  Porridge,  Fried  Mush  and  Sugar  Syrup, 

Fruit  Compote. 

Dinner. 

Slice  of  Roast  Mutton,  Salad, 

Potatoes  a  la  Neige^ 

Rice  Souffle  (Pudding  a  la  Guillod). 

Tea. 

Cup  of  Chocolate, 

Granulated  Wheat  Pudding, 

Stewed  Prunes. 


Breakfast. 

Raw  Egg  (whipped), 

Cornmeal  Pancakes,  Sugar  Syrup, 

Sweet  Oranges  Sliced. 

Dinner. 
Clear  Soup  with  Bread  Dice, 
Fried  Spring  Chicken  with  a  surrounding  of  Rice  or  Cauli- 
flower and  Cream  Sauce,  String-beans, 
Rice  a  la  Imioeratrice. 

Tea. 

Macaroni  Croquettes,  Tomato  Sauce, 

Graham  Bread, 

Grape  Juice. 


APPENDIX. 


Extract  from  an  Article  on  the  Effects  of  Tea  and  Coffee  on 

the  Si/stem  J  also  on  Count  Rumford's  Substitute  for  Tea, 

by  M.  Mattieu   Williams. 

(Published  iu  Knowledge;  republished  iu  The  Popular  Science  Monthly  of  De- 
cember, 18S4.) 

"Take  eight  parts  by  weight  (say  ounces)  of  meal  (Rum- 
ford  says  'wheat  or  rye  meal,'  and  I  add,  or  oatmeal),  and  one 
part  of  butter.  Melt  the  butter  in  a  clean  iron  frying-pan, 
and  when  thus  melted  sprinkle  the  meal  into  it ;  stir  the  whole 
briskly  with  a  broad  wooden  spoon  or  spatula  till  the  butter 
has  disappeared  and  the  meal  is  of  a  uniform  brown  color  like 
roasted  coffee,  great  care  being  taken  to  prevent  burning  on 
the  bottom  of  the  pan.  About  half  an  ounce  of  this  roasted 
meal,  boiled  in  a  pint  of  water,  and  seasoned  with  salt,  pepper, 
and  vinegar,  forms  '  burned  soup,'  much  used  by  the  wood- 
cutters of  Bavaria,  who  work  in  the  mountains  far  away  from 
any  habitations.  .  .  .  The  rye  bread,  which  eaten  alone  or  with 
cold  water  would  be  very  hard  fare,  is  rendered  palatable  and 
satisfactory,  Count  Rumford  thinks  also  more  wholesome  and 
nutritious,  by  the  help  of  a  bowl  of  hot  soup,  so  easily  prepared 
from  the  roasted  meal.  He  tells  us  that  this  is  not  only  used 
by  the  wood-cutters,  but  that  it  is  also  the  common  breakfast 
of  the  Bavarian  peasant,  and  adds  that  '  it  is  infinitely  prefer- 
able, in  all  respects,  to  that  most  pernicious  wash,  tea,  with 
which  the  lower  classes  of  the  inhabitants  of  Great  Britain 
drench  their  stomachs  and  ruin  their  constitutions.'  He  adds 
that,  '  when  tea  is  taken  with  a  sufficient  quantity  of  sugar  and 
good  cream,  and  with  a  large  quantity  of  bread-and-butter, 
or  with  toast  and  boiled  eggs,  and,  above  all,  ivhen  it  is  not 


200  Appendix. 

drunk  too  hot,  it  is  certainly  less  unwholesome  ;  but  a  simple  in- 
fusion of  this  drug,  drunk  boiling  hot,  as  the  poor  usually  take 
it,  is  certainly  a  poison,  which,  though  it  is  sometimes  slow  in 
its  operation,  never  fails  to  produce  fatal  effects,  even  in  the 
strongest  constitutions,  where  the  free  use  of  it  is  continued  for 
a  considerable  length  of  time." 

"This  may  appear  to  mauy  a  very  strong  condemnation  of 
their  favorite  beverage ;  nevertheless,  I  am  satisfied  that  it  is 
perfectly  sound.  This  is  not  an  opinion  hastily  adopted,  but 
a  conclusion  based  upon  many  observations,  extending  over  a 
long  period  of  years,  and  confirmed  by  experiments  made  upon 
myself. 

"  The  Pall  Mall  Gazette  of  August  7th  says :  '  There  is  balm 
for  tea -drinkers  in  one  of  Mr.  Mattieu  Williams's  "Science 
Notes"  in  the  GentlemarCs  Magazine.''  This  is  true  to  a  cer- 
tain extent.  I  referred  to  the  Chinese  as  habitual  drinkers 
of  boiled  water,  and  suggest  that  this  may  explain  their  com- 
parative immunity  from  cholera,  where  all  the  other  conditions 
for  a  raging  epidemic  are  fulfilled.  It  is  the  boiling  of  the 
water,  not  the  infusion  of  tea-leaves  therein,  to  which  I  attrib- 
ute the  destruction  of  the  germs  of  infection. 

"  In  the  note  which  follows,  I  proposed  an  infusion  of  fried  or 
toasted  bread  crumbs,  oatmeal,  maize,»wheat,  barley,  malt,  etc.,  as 
a  substitute  for  the  tea,  the  deep  color  of  the  infusion  (poured 
off  from  the  grounds  in  this  case)  serving  to  certify  the  boiling 
of  the  water.  Rumford's  burned  soup,  taken  habitually  at 
breakfast  or  other  meals,  would  answer  the  same  purpose,  with 
the  futher  advantage  to  poor  people  of  being,  to  a  certain  ex- 
tent, a  nutritious  soup  as  well  as  a  beverage.  All  that  is  nutri- 
tious in  porter  is  in  this,  minus  the  alcoholic  drug  and  its  vile 
companion,  the  fusel-oil. 

"  The  experience  of  every  confirmed  tea-drinker,  when  sound- 
ly interpreted,  supplies  condemnation  of  the  beverage;  the 
plea  commonly  and  blindly  urged  on  its  behalf  being,  when 
understood,  an  eloquent  expression  of  such  condemnation. 
*  It  is  so  refreshing ;'  *  I  am  fit  for  nothing  when  tea-time 
comes  round  until  I  have  had  my  tea,  and  then  I  am  fit  for 


Ajppendix.  201 

anything.'  The  '  fit-for-nothing '  state  comes  on  at  five  p.  m,, 
when  the  drug  is  taken  at  the  orthodox  time,  or  even  in  the 
early  morning,  in  the  case  of  those  who  are  accustomed  to 
have  a  cup  of  tea  brought  to  their  bedside  before  rising.  With 
blindness  still  more  profound,  some  will  plead  for  tea  by  tell- 
ing that  by  its  aid  one  can  sit  up  all  night  long  at  brain-work 
without  feeling  sleepy,  provided  ample  supplies  of  the  infusion 
are  taken  from  time  to  time. 

*'  It  is  unquestionably  true  that  such  may  be  done ;  that  the 
tea-drinker  is  languid  and  weary  at  tea-time,  whatever  be  the 
hour,  and  that  the  refreshment  produced  by  'the  cup  that 
cheers '  and  is  said  not  to  inebriate,  is  almost  instantaneous. 

"  What  is  the  true  significance  of  these  facts? 

"  The  refreshment  is  certainly  not  due  to  nutrition,  not  to  the 
rebuilding  of  any  worn-out  or  exhausted  organic  tissue.  The 
total  quantity  of  material  conveyed  from  the  tea-leaves  into 
the  water  is  ridiculously  too  small  for  the  performance  of  any 
such  nutritive  function ;  and,  besides  this,  the  action  is  far  too 
rapid,  there  is  not  sufficient  time  for  the  conversion  of  even 
that  minute  quantity  into  organized  working  tissue.  The  ac- 
tion cannot  be  that  of  a  food,  but  is  purely  and  simply  that  of 
a  stimulating  or  irritant  drug,  acting  directly  and  abnormally 
on  the  nervous  system. 

"The  five-o'clock  lassitude  and  craving  are  neither  more  nor 
less  than  the  reaction  induced  by  the  habitual  abnormal  stimula- 
tion ;  or  otherwise,  and  quite  fairly,  stated,  it  is  the  outward 
symptom  of  a  diseased  condition  of  brain  produced  by  the  ac- 
tion of  a  drug ;  it  may  be  but  a  mild  form  of  disease,  but  it  is 
truly  a  disease  nevertheless. 

"  The  active  principle  which  produces  this  result  is  the  crys- 
talline alkaloid,  the  theine,  a  compound  belonging  to  the  same 
class  as  strychnine  and  a  number  of  similar  vegetable  poisons. 
These,  when  diluted,  act  medicinally,  that  is,  produce  disturb- 
ance of  normal  functions  as  the  tea  does,  and,  like  theine,  most 
of  them  act  specially  on  the  nervous  system ;  when  concen- 
trated they  are  dreadful  poisons,  very  small  doses  producing 
death. 


202  Appendix. 

"  The  non-tea-drinker  does  not  suffer  any  of  these  five-o'clock 
symptoms,  and,  if  otherwise  in  sound  health,  remains  in  steady 
working  condition  until  his  day's  work  is  ended  and  the  time 
for  rest  and  sleep  arrives.  But  the  habitual  victim  of  any  kind 
of  drug  or  disturber  of  normal  functions  acquires  a  diseased 
condition,  displayed  by  the  loss  of  vitality  or  other  deviation 
from  normal  condition,  which  is  temporarily  relieved  by  the 
usual  dose  of  the  drug,  but  only  in  such  wise  as  to  generate  a 
renewed  craving.  I  include  in  this  general  statement  all  the 
vice-drugs  (to  coin  a  general  name),  such  as  alcohol,  opium, 
tobacco  (whether  smoked,  chewed,  or  snuffed),  arsenic,  hashish, 
betel-nut,  coca-leaf,  thorn-apple,  Siberian  fungus,  mate,  etc.,  all 
of  which  are  excessively  'refreshing'  to  their  victims,  and  of 
which  the  use  may  be,  and  has  been,  defended  by  the  same  argu- 
ments as  those  used  by  the  advocates  of  habitual  tea-drink- 
ing. 

"  Speaking  generally,  the  reaction  or  residual  effect  of  these 
on  the  system  is  nearly  the  opposite  of  that  of  their  immediate 
effect,  and  thus  larger  and  larger  doses  are  demanded  to  bring 
the  system  to  its  normal  condition.  The  non-tea-drinker,  or 
moderate  drinker,  is  kept  awake  by  a  cup  of  tea  or  coffee  taken 
late  at  night,  while  the  hard  drinker  of  these  beverages  scarce- 
ly feels  any  effect,  especially  if  accustomed  to  take  it  at  that 
time. 

"  The  practice  of  taking  tea  or  coffee  by  students,  in  order  to 
work  at  night,  is  downright  madness,  especially  when  preparing 
for  an  examination.  More  than  half  of  the  cases  of  break- 
down, loss  of  memory,  fainting,  etc.,  which  occur  during  severe 
examinations,  and  far  more  frequently  than  is  commonly  known, 
are  due  to  this. 

"I  frequently  hear  of  promising  students  who  have  thus 
failed ;  and,  on  inquiry,  have  learned — in  almost  every  instance 
— that  the  victim  has  previously  drugged  himself  with  tea  or 
coffee.  Sleep  is  the  rest  of  the  brain  ;  to  rob  the  hard-worked 
brain  of  its  necessary  rest  is  cerebral  suicide. 

"  My  old  friend,  the  late  Thomas  Wright,  was  a  victim  of  this 
terrible  folly.     lie  undertook  the  translation  of  the  '  Life  of 


Appendix.  203 

Julius  Caesar,'  by  Napoleon  III.,  and  to  do  it  in  a  cruelly  short 
time.  He  fulfilled  his  contract  by  sitting  up  several  nights 
successively  by  the  aid  of  strong  tea  or  coffee  (I  forget  which). 
I  saw  him  shortly  afterwards.  In  a  few  weeks  he  had  aged 
alarmingly,  and  had  become  quite  bald  ;  his  brain  gave  way  and 
never  recovered.  There  was  but  little  difference  between  his 
age  and  mine,  and  bnt  for  this  dreadful  cerebral  strain,  rendered 
possible  only  by  the  alkaloid  (for  otherwise  he  would  have 
fallen  to  sleep  over  his  work,  and  thereby  saved  his  life),  he 
might  still  be  amusing  and  instructing  thousands  of  readers  by 
fresh  volumes  of  popularized  archaeological  research. 

*'  I  need  scarcely  add  that  all  I  have  said  above  ap})lics  to  cof- 
fee as  to  tea,  though  not  so  seriously  in  this  country  [li^ngland]. 
The  active  alkaloid  is  the  same  in  both,  but  tea  contains,  weight 
for  weight,  about  three  times  as  much  as  coffee.  In  this  country 
we  commonly  use  about  fifty  per  cent,  more  coffee  than  tea  to 
each  given  measure  of  water,  and  thus  get  about  half  as  much 
alkaloid.  On  the  Continent  they  use  about  double  our  quan- 
tity (this  is  the  true  secret  of  'coffee  as  in  France'),  and  thus 
produce  as  potent  an  infusion  as  our  tea. 

"  The  above  remarks  are  exclusively  applied  to  the  habitual 
use  of  these  stimulants.  As  medicines,  used  occasionally  and 
judiciously,  they  are  invaluable,  provided  always  that  they  are 
not  used  as  ordinary  beverages.  In  Italy,  Greece,  and  some 
parts  of  the  East,  it  is  customary,  when  anybody  feels  ill,  with 
indefinite  symptoms,  to  send  to  the  druggist  for  a  dose  of  tea. 
From  what  I  have  seen  of  its  action  on  non-tea-drinkers,  it  ap- 
pears to  be  specially  potent  in  arresting  the  premonitory  symp- 
toms of  fever,  the  fever-headache,  etc. 

"  It  is  strange  that  any  physiologist  should  claim  this  dimi- 
nution of  the  normal  waste  and  renewal  of  tissue  as  a  merit, 
seeing  that  life  itself  is  the  product  of  such  a  change,  and  death 
the  result  of  its  cessation.  But,  in  the  eagerness  that  has  been 
displayed  to  justify  existing  indulgences,  this  claim  has  been 
extensively  made  by  men  who  ought  to  know  better  than  admit 
such  a  plea. 

"  I  speak,  of  course,  of  the  habitual  use  of  such  drugs,  not  of 


204  Apjpendix. 

their  occasional  medicinal  use.  The  waste  of  the  body  may  be 
going  on  with  killing  rapidity,  as  in  fever,  and  then  such  med- 
icines may  save  life,  provided  always  that  the  body  has  not 
become  '  tolerant '  of  or  partially  insensible  to  them  by  daily 
usage.  I  once  watched  a  dangerous  case  of  typhoid  fever. 
Acting  under  the  instructions  of  skilful  medical  attendants,  and 
aided  by  a  clinical  thermometer  and  a  seconds- watch,  I  so  ap- 
plied small  doses  of  brandy  at  short  intervals  as  to  keep  dov/n 
both  pulse  and  temperature  within  the  limits  of  fatal  combus- 
tion. The  patient  had  scarcely  tasted  alcohol  before  this,  and 
therefore  it  exerted  its  maximum  efficacyo  I  was  surprised  at 
the  certain  response  of  both  pulse  and  temperature  to  this  most 
valuable  medicine  and  most  pernicious  beverage. 

"  The  argument  that  has  been  the  most  industriously  urged  in 
favor  of  all  the  vice-drugs,  and  each  in  its  turn,  is  that  misera- 
ble apology  that  has  been  made  for  every  folly,  every  vice,  ev- 
ery political  abuse,  every  social  crime  (such  as  slavery,  polyga- 
my, etc.),  when  the  time  has  arrived  for  reformation.  I  cannot 
condescend  to  seriously  argue  against  it,  but  merely  state  the 
fact  that  the  widely  diffused  practice  of  using  some  kind  of 
stimulating  drug  has  been  claimed  as  a  sufficient  proof  "of  the 
necessity  or  advantage  of  such  practice.  I  leave  my  readers  to 
bestow  on  such  a  plea  the  treatment  they  may  think  it  deserves. 
Those  who  believe  that  a  rational  being  should  have  rational 
grounds  for  his  conduct  will  treat  this  customary  refuge  of  blind 
conservatism  as  I  do." 

Mr.  Williams,  in  his  article,  proceeds  to  give  the  views  of 
certain  scientists  who  have  defended  the  use  of  the  alkaloids. 
He  speaks  of  Liebig's,  or  rather  Nehmen's,  theory,  which  was 
that  the  use  of  tea  and  coffee  retarded  the  waste  of  the  tissues 
of  the  body;  also  Johnston's  theory,  "Chemistry  of  Common 
Life,"  that  if  waste  be  lessened  by  the  use  of  tea,  less  food  is 
required. 

Mr.  Williams  says,  regarding  these  theories  :  "All  the  popu- 
lar stimulants  and  refreshing  drugs  have  two  distinct  and  op- 
posite actions ;  an  immediate  exaltation,  which  lasts  for  a  cer- 
tain period,  varying  vwith  the  drug  and  the  constitution  of  its 


Appendix.  205 

victim,  and  a  subsequent  depression  proportionate  to  the  primary 
exaltation,  but,  as  I  believe,  always  exceeding  it  either  in  dura- 
tion or  intensity,  or  both,  thus  giving  as  a  net  or  mean  result  a 
loss  of  vitality." 


RemarTcs  on  the  Influence  of  Alcoholic  Liquors,  hy  Professor 
Edward  L.  Voumans,  in  "  Household  Science,^^  and  others. 

"  Stimulating  Effect  of  Alcoholic  Beverages. — They 
produce  general  stimulation ;  the  heart's  action  is  increased, 
the  circulation  quickened,  the  secretions  augmented,  the  system 
glows  with  unusual  warmth,  and  there  is  a  general  heightening 
of  the  functions.  Organs  usually  below  par  from  debility  are 
brought  up  to  the  normal  tone,  while  those  which  are  strong 
and  healthy  are  raised  above  it.  Thus  the  stomach,  if  feeble, 
for  example,  from  deficient  gastric  secretion,  may  be  aided  to 
pour  out  a  more  copious  solvent,  which  promotes  digestion ; 
or,  if  it  be  in  full  health,  it  may  thus  be  made  to  digest  more 
than  the  body  requires.  The  life  of  the  system  is  exalted  above 
its  standard ;  which  takes  place,  not  by  conferring  additional 
vitality,  but  by  plying  the  nervous  system  with  a  fiery  irritant, 
which  provokes  the  vital  functions  to  a  higher  rate  of  action. 
This  is  the  secret  of  the  fatal  fascination  of  alcohol,  and  the 
source  of  its  evil.  The  excitement  it  produces  is  transient,  and 
is  followed  by  a  corresponding  depression  and  dragging  of  all 
the  bodily  movements.  It  enables  us  to  live  at  an  accelerated 
speed  to-day,  but  it  is  only  plundering  to-morrow.  By  its 
means  we  crowd  into  a  short  period  of  intense  exhilaration  the 
feelings,  emotions,  thoughts,  and  experiences  which  the  Author 
of  our  nature  designed  should  be  distributed  more  equally 
through  the  passing  time.  We  cannot  doubt  that  God  has 
graduated  the  flow  of  these  life-currents  in  accordance  with 
the  profoundest  harmonies  of  being  and  the  highest  results  of 
beneficence.  By  habitually  resorting  to  this  potent  stimulant 
man  violates  the  providential  order  of  his  constitution,  loses 
the  voluntary  regulation  and  control  of  his  conduct,  inaugu- 
rates the  reign  of  appetite  and  passion,  and  reaps  the  penal 


206  Appendix. 

consequences  in  mnltiform  suffering  and  sorrow — for  Nature 
always  vindicates  herself  at  last." 

Prof.  Youmans  also  says,  in  answer  to  the  question,  Is  the 
use  of  alcohol  physiologically  economical?  "The  apologists 
for  the  genei'al  and  moderate  use  of  alcoholic  beverages  cannot 
agree  among  themselves  upon  any  philosophy  to  suit  the  case. 
Dr.  Moleshott  says,  'Alcohol  may  be  considered  a  savings-box 
of  the  tissues.  He  who  eats  little,  and  drinks  a  moderate  quan- 
tity of  spirits,  retains  as  much  in  tlie  blood  and  tissues  as  a  per- 
son who  eats  proportionally  more  without  drinking  any  beer, 
wine,  or  spirits.  Clearly,  then,  it  is  hard  to  rob  the  laborer, 
who,  in  the  sweat  of  his  brow,  eats  but  a  slender  meal,  of  a 
means  by  which  his  deficient  food  is  made  to  last  him  a  longer 
time.'  Upon  which  Dr.  Chambers  justly  remarks,  'This  is  go- 
ing rather  too  far.  When  alcohol  limits  the  consumption  of 
tissue,  and  so  the  requirements  of  the  system,  while  at  the  same 
time  a  man  goes  on  working,  it  is  right  to  inquire,  whence 
comes  his  new  strength  ?  It  is  supplied  by  something  which 
is  not  decomposition  of  tissue ;  by  what,  then  ?  Dr.  Licbig 
points  out  the  consequences  of  that  peculiar  economy  by  which 
the  laboring  man  saves  his  tissue  and  the  food  necessary  to  re- 
pair it  by  the  use  of  liquors :  '  Spirits,  by  their  action  on  the 
nerves,  enable  the  laborer  to  make  up  for  deficient  power  (from 
insuflScient  food)  at  the  expense  of  his  body  ;  to  consume  to-day 
that  quantity  which  ought  naturally  to  have  been  employed  a 
day  later.  He  draws,  so  to  speak,  a  bill  on  his  health  which 
must  be  always  renewed,  because,  for  want  of  means,  he  can- 
not take  it  up ;  he  consumes  his  capital  instead  of  his  interest, 
and  the  result  is  the  inevitable  bankruptcy  of  his  body.' 

"Dr.  Moleshott  further  says,  '  When,  by  habit,  the  stimulant 
has  become  a  necessity,  an  enervating  relaxation  infallibly  fol- 
lows, as  is  sometimes  mournfully  illustrated  by  less  prudent  lit- 
erary men.  The  stimulant  ceases  to  excite ;  the  debilitated  or- 
gans have  already  been  indebted  to  it  for  all  the  activity  it  can 
give.  In  this  case  the  victim  continues  to  seek  his  refuge  until 
dangerous  diseases  of  the  stomach  cripple  the  digestive  or- 
gans, the  formation  of  blood  and  nutrition  are  disturbed ;  and, 


Appendix.  207 

with  the  digestion,  vanish  clearness  of  thought,  acuteness  of  the 

senses,  and  the  elasticity  of  the  muscles.' " 


Tendency  of  Common  Wheat  Flour  to  Produce  Bright'' s  Disease, 
Diabetes,  etc. 
It  is  claimed  by  the  health-food  manufacturers  that  "the 
starch  portion  of  wheat  may  be  compared  to  the  fat  of 
meat,  and  the  gluten  portion  to  the  lean  meat.  This  compar- 
ison is  not  wanting  in  scientific  accuracy,  inasmuch  as  starch 
is  carbon  and  fat  is  carbon,  while  animal  albumen  and  gluten, 
or  vegetable  albumen,  are  nearly  identical  nitrogenous  substan- 
ces. If,  then,  we  were  to  attempt  to  exist  upon  the  fat,  or  car- 
bon, to  the  exclusion  of  the  lean,  or  nitrogen,  of  meat,  we 
should  presently  discern,  by  our  waning  bodily  and  mental 
vigor,  that  we  were  very  imperfectly  nourished.  The  same 
lack  of  vital  force  comes  from  an  excessive  use  of  the  vegeta- 
ble carbons.  The  disuse  of  the  fat  of  grain — the  starch — de- 
mands more  earnest  consideration  from  the  physiologist,  be- 
cause the  refined  taste  instinctively  shrinks  from  the  copious 
use  of  animal  fats,  while  education,  custom,  habit,  all  encourage 
the  increasing  and  unlimited  use  of  the  starch  form  of  carbon. 
It  is  not  claimed  that  our  ordinary  bread-flour  is  as  pure  a  car- 
bon, as  free  from  nitrogen,  as  the  clear  f.it  of  meat.  The  ordi- 
nary milling  processes  cannot  exclude  all  the  nitrogenous  ele- 
ments from  the  white  flour ;  that  they  do  withhold  the  greater 
part,  as  well  as  all  but  the  merest  trace  of  the  organized  min- 
eral constituents,  is  a  simplo  chemical  fact.  We  know  that  the 
gluten  contains  phosphorus  ...  we  know  that  the  starch  con- 
tains no  phosphorus.  We  know  that  the  starch-interior  of  the 
wheat-berry  is  nearly  barren  of  minerals,  containing  consider- 
ably less  than  one  half  of  one  per  cent.,  while  the  gluten  is 
found  to  contain  over  eleven  per  cent.  The  mineral  matter  is 
nearly  half  phosphoric  acid,  nearly  one  third  potassa,  more  than 
one  tenth  magnesia,  with  smaller  proportions  of  soda,  lime, 
iron,  chloride  of  sodium,  sulphuric  acid,  and  silica.  These  ele- 
ments are  all  demanded  in  the  blood-making  processes.  ...  In 


208  Appendix. 

the  use  of  starch-bread  the  stomacli  is  greatly  overtaxed  in  its 
effort  to  digest  an  immense  amount  of  starch,  containing  an 
insignificant  portion  of  nitrogenous  and  mineral  elements.  The 
use  of  starch  in  excess  is  the  rule  in  America.  If  assimilated, 
it  is  very  liable  to  induce  fatty  degeneration  of  the  tissues,  and 
such  diseases  as  depend  upon  this  state.  Atheroma  of  the 
cerebral  arteries,  with  the  attendant  fat-globules,  the  weakened 
muscular  coats,  and  the  tendency  to  rpptnre  and  apoplexy,  are 
all  concomitants  of  the  starchy  diathesis.  The  essential  feature 
of  Bright's  disease  is  fatty  infiltration  of  the  kidneys;  while 
diabetes  finds  its  chief  allies  in  bread  and  potatoes.  These 
formidable  diseases  may  be  guarded  against  by  appropriate  ali- 
mentary substances  containing  the  needed  proportions  of  all 
nutritive  elements. 

But  starch  undigested  is  nearly  as  potent  for  evil  as  starch 
digested.  The  liver,  burdened  with  white  bread  and  potatoes, 
seems  presently  to  be  deprived  of  its  power,  etc. 


Koumiss. 
In  the  Medical  Record  is  an  article  by  Dr.  E.  F.  Brush,  of 
New  York,  in  v^'hich  he  says :  "  Historically  the  study  of  kou- 
miss is  very  interesting.  Homer  speaks  of  the  koumiss-mak- 
ing Hippomolgi ;  Herodotus  tells  us  that  the  Scythians  de- 
prived their  slaves  of  sight  in  order  to  keep  secret  the  process 
of  making  a  drink  from  mares'  milk.  .  .  .  Marco  Polo,  the 
great  Venetian  traveller,  writing  a  few  years  later,  speaks  of 
koumiss  as  a  common  drink,  wholesome,  nutritious,  and  posses- 
sing important  medical  properties.  .  .  .  Pallas,  who  was  sent 
by  the  Empress  Catherine  11.  to  visit  the  less-known  portions 
of  her  dominions,  gave  considerable  attention  to  the  question 
of  koumiss.  Speaking  of  the  Tartar  tribes,  he  says:  'Their 
wealth  consists  in  herds  of  mares,  the  milk  of  which  cannot  be 
manufactured  into  cheese  or  butter,  and  which,  owing  to  the 
large  quantity  of  sugar  it  contains,  ferments  spontaneously. 
This  they  undoubtedly  discovered  by  attempting  to  preserve 
the  milk  for  a  day  or  two  in  skin  bags.     From  this  step,  it  is  a 


Appendix.  209 

short  one  to  discover  that  the  longer  it  was  kept  the  more 
pleasant  it  became.'  Mrs.  Guthrie,  who  visited  the  Crimea  in 
1795,  writes:  'On  stopping  at  a  village  the  hospitable  Tartars 
brought  us  a  wooden  dish  of  their  favorite  koumiss.  The  kou- 
miss has  a  sourish-sweet  taste,  by  no  means  unpleasant  to  my 
palate.'  Pallas  tells  us  that  he  met  a  horde  of  Tartars  who 
possessed  the  secret  of  turning  cows'  milk  into  vinous  fermenta- 
tion, or,  in  other  words,  into  koumiss.  Atkinson,  in  his  '  Ori- 
ental and  Western  Siberia,'  writes:  'On  entering  a  Kirghis 
yourt  in  summer,  a  Chinese  bowl  holding  three  pints  of  kou- 
miss is  presented  to  each  gtiest.  It  is  considered  impolite  to 
return  the  vessel  before  emptying  it,  and  a  good  Kirghis  is 
never  guilty  of  this  impropriety.  They  begin  to  make  koumiss 
in  April.  The  mares  are  milked  into  large  leathern  pails, 
which  are  immediately  taken  into  the  yourt,  and  the  milk 
poured  into  the  koumiss  bag.  The  first  fourteen  days  after 
they  begin  making  this  beverage  very  little  of  it  is  drank,  but, 
with  fermentation  and  agitation,  it  is  considered  by  this  time 
in  perfection,  when  it  is  drank  in  great  quantities  by  the 
wealthy  Kirghis.' 

"In  an  official  report  to  the  Russian  government  in  1840, 
Dr.  Dahl,  after  describing  the  method  of  manufacturing  koumiss, 
continues:  '  Peculiar  as  is  the  taste  of  koumiss,  one  soon  becomes 
accustomed  to  it,  especially  if  one  tastes  it  for  the  first  time 
when  thirsty,  or  after  violent  exercise.  It  is  then  the  most 
pleasant  and  refreshing  of  all  drinks.  ...  It  is  very  refreshing 
and  hunger-stilling,  without  being  surfeiting.  It  only  allays 
hunger  without  destroying  the  appetite.  One  can,  without  any 
fear,  drink  as  much  as  he  will — an  inconceivable  amount — and 
yet  always  feel  light  and  well.  If  one  were  to  drink  half  the 
quantity  of  water,  beer,  or  anything  else,  especially  during  the 
burning  heat  when  one  is  forced  to  be  on  horseback,  one  would 
feel  over  full  and  heavy.  But  every  cup  of  koumiss  gives  new 
courage  and  strength.  An  intoxication  such  as  is  produced  by- 
wine  never  takes  place  after  drinking  koumiss,  in  whatever 
quantities  you  may  ;  the  result  is  a  scarcely  noticeable  exhilara- 
tion, and  this  only  when  it  is  taken  in  very  considerable  quanti- 


210  Appendix. 

tics,  or  in  delicate  persons,  when  it  produces  an  inclination  to 
a  refreshino-  sleep.  .  .  .  Koumiss  is,  among  the  nomads,  the 
drink  of  all  children  from  the  suckling  upward,  the  refreshment 
of  the  old  and  sick,  the  nourishment  and  greatest  luxury  of 
every  one.  The  effect  of  koumiss  shows  itself  in  less  than  a 
week  in  a  good  nourishment  of  the  whole  body,  an  increase  in 
strength  and  spirits,  and  a  general  feeling  of  health.  The 
respiration  is  easier,  the  voice  freer,  the  complexion  brighter. 
.  .  .  The  diseases  in  which  koumiss  is  beneficial  are  those 
where  the  body  must  be  well  nourished  without  loading  the 
digestive  organs.  It  seems  too,  that  koumiss  is  specially  use- 
ful in  diseases  of  the  lungs,  bronchia,  and  larynx ;  I  will  not 
assert  that  it  can  cure  consumption  and  phthisis,  but  it  suits 
these  conditions  better  than  any  other  nourishment.  It  is  cer- 
tain that  among  the  Kirghis  consumption  and  phthisis  arc  very 
rare — so,  too  pneumonia,  senile  asthma,  and  dropsy  of  the  chest. 
Of  tubercular  consumption,  and  other  phthisis,  I  have  seen  no 
example  among  the  Kirghis.' 

"Dr.  Neftel,  who,  twenty-three  years  after  the  visit  of  Dr. 
Dahl,  was  also  sent  by  the  Russian  government  to  the  Kirghis 
Steppe,  confirms  the  observations  of  his  predecessor.  '  Scrof- 
ulosis  and  rachitis  are  quite  unknown  among  them ;  and,  what 
is  still  more  remarkable,  I  had  opportunity  to  observe  not  one 
single  case  of  lung  tuberculosis  although  I  sought  for  such 
cases  with  great  attention.'  To  avoid  repetition,  I  will  simply 
cite  one  case  given  by  Dr.  Neftel  relating  to  koumiss  treatment. 
*The  patient,  twenty-five  years  old,  had  always  lived  in  St. 
Petersburg.  Her  physician  there,  a  distinguished  diagnostician, 
found  tubercular  infiltrations  in  both  superior  lobes  of  the  lungs. 
During  two  years  she  coughed  continually,  with  a  rauco-prurient 
expectoration  often  tinged  with  blood,  and  she  became  very 
emaciated.  All  other  physicians  consulted  by  the  patient  con- 
firmed this  diagnosis.  .  .  .  The  presence  of  cavities  was  clear- 
ly demonstrated,  and  a  hectic  fever  set  in.  In  this  condition 
the  patient,  by  my  advice,  left  the  city,  passed  the  whole  sum- 
mer in  the  steppe,  in  a  kibitka,  and  was  methodically  treated 
with  koumiss.     Ecr  general  condition  gradually  improved  ;  she 


Appendix.  211 

returned  to  the  city  in  the  autumn,  and  the  ensuing  spring  she 
again  commenced  the  koumiss  treatment,  and  I  have  hitely  re- 
ceived here  at  Wtirzburg  a  letter  from  her  husband,  in  which 
he  informs  me  that  his  wife  is  completely  cured,  and  coughs 
no  longer.' " 

Dr.  Brush  further  adds  that  a  recent  article  on  koumiss  has 
been  written  by  Dr.  Campbell,  of  Mount  Vernon,  N.  Y.,  in  the 
American  Journal  of  Obstetrics^  Oct.,  1880.  His  observations 
are  limited  to  the  study  of  koumiss  in  cholera  infantum.  lie 
reasons  as  follows :  "  In  a  severe  case  of  choleraic  diarrhoea  we 
derive  but  little  aid  from  medication,  the  primary  cause  of  the 
disorder  being  the  food  put  into  the  child's  stomach.  These 
cases  occur  almost  exclusively  among  fed  children.  Our  aim 
is  chiefly  directed  to  finding  something  on  which  the  infant 
can  be  nourished  and  which  will  not  increase  the  trouble  al- 
ready existing.  In  koumiss  we  have  a  food  which  children 
with  high  temperature  not  only  take  kindly,  but  crave,  its 
slightly  acid  taste  being  grateful  to  their  parched  tongues.  It 
is  an  absolutely  non-putrefactive  food,  is  free  from  sugar,  and 
is  rarely  ejected  even  by  the  most  irritable  stomach.  ...  I  can 
say  of  it  that  it  has  never  failed  me  in  any  case  of  cholera  in- 
fantum, except  where  well-marked  brain  symptoms  already  ex- 
isted, before  it  was  administered,  to  such  a  degree  as  to  pre- 
clude the  possibility  of  a  recovery.  Even  in  these  cases  it  is 
an  advantage,  for  we  are  giving  a  food  which  will  not  be  vom- 
ited, and  which  will  satisfy  thirst." 

As  a  food  for  diabetics  the  author  would  refer  to  page  10. 

Remarks  hy  Dr.  T.  Griswold  ComstocJc  on  the  Use  of  Koumiss : 
"Regarding  koumiss,  from  a  large  experience  in  its  use  dur- 
ing the  past  nine  years,  I  can  recommend  it  with  the  greatest 
confidence.  It  fills  a  desideratum  which  the  medical  practi- 
tioner has  long  desired.  One  fact  bearing  upon  its  nutritious 
value  should  be  borne  in  mind:  one  joint  of  it  contains  more 
than  two  ounces  of  solid  food,  so  that  it  is  especially  indicated 
in  constitutional  diseases  or  systemic  affections.  According 
to  the  most  recent  authorities  it  is  regarded  by  practitioners 


212  Appendix. 

as  acting  in  cold  weather  as  a  diuretic,  and  in  warm  weather 
as  a  diaphoretic.  From  these  physiological  standpoints  we 
can  prescribe  it  rationally  in  a  variety  of  ailments.  It  is  valu- 
able in  pulmonary  catarrh,  in  pulmonary  tuberculosis,  in  chronic 
diarrhoea,  in  diabetes,  in  Bright's  disease,  in  diphtheria,  in  the 
paralysis  the  sequel  of  diphtheria,  in  summer  complaint,  in  the 
chronic  intestinal  and  gastric  catarrhs  of  children  or  adults, 
and  especially  in  dyspepsia  and  flatulence.  It  will  be  found 
peculiarly  beneficial  in  cases  of  incurable  disease,  such  as  can- 
cer. I  have  prescribed  it  in  pernicious  anaemia,  puerperal 
anaemia,  in  typhoid  fever,  in  puerperal  fever;  in  fact,  in  almost 
any  affection  attended  with  emaciation.  At  first  it  may  be  given 
in  small  quantities,  and  gradually  the  ration  may  be  increased 
until  it  constitutes  the  sole  food  of  the  patient.  As  it  is  in 
reality  a  wine-milk,  or  rather  a  champagne-milk,  it  acts  some- 
thing like  an  alcoholic  stimulant,  and  most  patients  feel  revived 
at  once  after  taking  it.  It  is  especially  indicated  for  the  in- 
firmities of  old  age,  in  cases  of  palsy,  paralysis,  impending  or 
real  mental  affections,  etc. 


From  Dr.  Roberts's  Book,  ^''The  Digestive  Ferments^ 
"  My  own  efforts  to  produce  a  palatable  peptonized  food 
have  been  chiefly  directed  to  the  pancreatic  method.  The 
pancreas  excels  the  stomach  as  a  digestive  organ,  in  that  it  has 
the  power  to  digest  the  two  great  alimentary  principles,  starch 
and  proteids ;  and  an  extract  of  the  gland  is  possessed  of  sim- 
ilar properties.  .  .  .  My  attention  was  first  turned  to  the 
artificial  digestion  of  milk  .  .  .  Milk  contains  all  the  elements 
of  a  perfect  food,  adjusted  in  their  due  proportions  for  the 
nutrition  of  the  body.  Two  out  of  three  of  its  organic  con- 
stituents— namely,  the  sugar  and  the  fat — exist  already  in  the 
most  favorable  condition  for  absorption,  and  require  little,  if 
any,  assistance  from  the  digestive  ferments.  It  is  therefore 
obvious  that  if  we  could  change  the  caseine  of  milk  into 
peptone  without  materially  altering  the  flavor  and  appearance 
of  the  milk,  such  a  result  would  go  far  towards  solving  the 


Appendix.  213 

problem  of  supplying  an  artificially  digested  food  for  the  use 
of  the  sick." 

Peptonized  Milk  Gruel. — Dr.  Roberts  farther  says :  "  This  is 
the  preparation  of  which  I  have  had  the  most  experience,  and 
with  which  I  have  obtained  the  most  satisfactory  results.  It 
may  be  regarded  as  an  artificially  digested  bread-and-milk,  and 
as  forming  by  itself  a  complete  and  highly  nutritious  food  for 
weak  digestion.  ...  I  find,  however,  that  some  persons  fail  to 
peptonize  milk  gruel  so  as  to  make  it  palatable.  This  is  en- 
tirely due  to  allowing  the  peptonizing  process  to  go  on  too 
far.  Artificial  digestion,  like  cooking,  must  be  regulated  as  to 
its  degree.  If  the  liquor  pancreaticus  is  very  active,  the  slight 
bitterness,  whereby  it  is  known  that  the  process  has  been  car- 
ried far  enough,  is  developed  in  an  hour  or  less,  but  if  the 
preparation  is  not  so  active,  two  or  three  hours  may  be  re- 
quired to  rcacli  the  same  point.  The  practical  rule  for  guid- 
ance is  to  allov/  the  process  to  go  on  until  a  perceptible  bitter- 
ness is  developed,  and  not  longer.  The  milk  gruel  should  be 
raised  to  the  boiling-point  to  put  a  stop  to  further  changes." 

Pancreatic  Emulsion  of  Fats. — Dr.  Dobell,  in  his  work 
on  "  Loss  of  Weight,  Blood-spitting,  and  Lung  Disease,"  says : 
"  Oil  when  it  agrees  and  passes  into  the  blood  does  not  com- 
pletely represent  the  solid  fats  of  the  natural  food,  and  cannot 
therefore  permanently  take  their  place.  As  a  temporary  sub- 
stitute for  natural  fat  it  answers  admirably,  but  sooner  or  later, 
in  some  cases  very  soon  indeed,  the  portal  system  becomes 
choked  and  refuses  to  absorb  more  oil ;  the  oil  disagrees  with 
the  stomach,  it  rises,  spoils  the  appetite,  and  thus  not  only 
ceases  to  do  good,  but  does  positive  harm,  by  preventing  the 
patient  from  taking  as  mucli  food  as  the  stomach  might  other- 
wise call  for  and  digest.  None  of  these  disadvantages  occur 
witli  well-made  pancreatic  emulsions  of  solid  fat.  The  con- 
sequence is  that  an  artificial  supply  of  natural  fat  by  the  nat- 
ural route  can  be  kept  up  for  an  indefinite  time  if  required, 
while  the  appetite  is  usually  improved  and  the  digestion  also ; 


214  A'pjpendix. 

and  at  the  same  time  a  very  large  quantity  of  amylaceous* 
food  is  rapidly  converted  into  dextrine  and  sugar  by  the  pan- 
creatic action  of  the  emulsion,  and  thus  a  most  important  as- 
sistance in  the  economy  of  fat  is  given  by  the  increased  supply 
of  carbon  from  the  carbohydrates  f  at  the  same  time  that  fat 
is  being  thrown  into  the  blood  by  the  emulsion. 

"From  the  date  of  its  first  introduction  in  1863  up  to  1872, 
at  the  lloyal  Chest  Hospital  alone,  1  had  prescribed  the  emul- 
sion in  over  six  thousand  cases.  .  .  .  The  general  results  of 
my  thus  extended  experience  have  been  confirmatory  of  my 
opinion.  ...  I  am  informed  on  good  authority  that  as  much 
as  sixty  thousand  pounds  of  the  emulsion  (made  in  London) 
have  been  consumed  in  a  single  year.  While  there  are  cer- 
tainly a  few  persons  who  cannot  possibly  take  or  assimilate  the 
emulsion,  although  able  to  take  cod-liver  oil,  they  are  but  very 
few  indeed,  now  that  the  emulsion  has  been  made  so  perfect  a 
preparation  ;  whereas  the  number  of  persons  who  can  take  and 
assimilate  the  emulsion  but  not  cod-liver  oil,  is  very  large.  In 
either  case,  it  is  necessary  not  to  be  too  easily  persuaded  by 
our  patients  from  prescribing  the  remedy.  I  frequently  find 
that  patients  who  assert  that  they  cannot  possibly,  and  never 
could,  keep  down  the  oil,  will  manage  to  do  so  when  informed 
that  it  is  the  only  thing  that  will  stay  the  progress  of  the 
disease." 

Food  for  Infants. 

Remarks  of  Dr.  Eustace  Smith,  Physician  to  the  King  of  the 
Belgians,  in  The  Sanitary  Record  : 

"  The  mortality  among  children  under  the  age  of  twelve 
months  is  enormous,  and  of  these  deaths  a  large  proportion 
might  be  prevented  by  a  wider  diffusion  of  knowledge  of  one 
of  the  most  simple  of  subjects.  .  .  .  The  great  principle 
at  the  bottom  of  all  successful  feeding,  viz.,  that  an  infant  is 
nourished  in  proportion  to  his  power  of  digesting  the  food  with 
which  he  is  supplied,  and  not  in  proportion  to  the  quantity  of 
nutritive  material  which  he  may  be  induced  to  swallow,  is  so 
*  rertaining  to  starch.  f  Sugar  and  starch. 


"^^Wr. 


obviously  true  that  an  apology  might  almost  seem  necessary  for 
stating  so  self-evident  a  proposition  ;  but  experience  shows  that 
this  simple  truth  is  one  which,  in  practice,  is  constantly  lost 
sight  of.  That  that  child  thrives  best  who  is  most  largely  fed, 
and  that  the  more  solid  the  food  the  greater  its  nutritive  power, 
are  two  articles  of  faith  so  firmly  settled  in  the  minds  of  many 
persons  that  it  is  very  difficult  indeed  to  persuade  them  to  the 
contrary.  To  them  wasting  in  an  infant  merely  suggests  a 
larger  supply  of  more  solid  food ;  every  cry  means  hunger,  and 
must  be  quieted  by  an  additional  meal.  To  take  a  common 
case :  A  child,  weakly,  perhaps,  to  begin  with,  is  filled  with  a 
quantity  of  solid  food  which  he  has  no  power  of  digesting. 
His  stomach  and  bowels  revolt  against  the  burden  imposed 
upon  them,  and  endeavor  to  get  rid  of  the  offending  matter  by 
vomiting  and  diarrhoea;  a  gastro-intestinal  catarrh  is  set  up, 
which  still  further  reduces  the  strength;  every  meal  causes  a 
return  of  the  sickness;  the  bowels  are  filled  with  fermenting 
matter,  which  excites  violent  griping  pains,  so  that  the  child 
rests  neither  night  nor  day ;  after  a  longer  or  shorter  time  he 
sinks,  worn  out  by  pain  or  exhaustion,  and  is  then  said  to  have 
died  from  'consumption  of  the  bowels.' 

"Cases  such  as  the  above  are  but  too  common,  and  must  be 
painfully  familiar  to  every  physician  who  has  much  experience 
of  the  diseases  of  children. 

"The  food  we  select  for  the  diet  of  an  infant  should  be 
nutritious  in  itself,  but  it  should  also  be  given  in  a  form  in 
which  the  child  is  capable  of  digesting  it;  otherwise  we  may 
fill  him  with  food  without  in  any  way  contributing  to  his  nu- 
trition, and  actually  starve  the  body  while  we  load  the  stomach 
to  repletion.  No  food  can  be  considered  suitable  to  the  re- 
quirements of  the  infa.nt  unless  it  not  only  possess  heat-giving 
and  fat-producing  properties,  but  also  contains  material  to  sup- 
ply the  waste  of  the  nitrogenous  tissues;  therefore  a  merely 
starchy  substance,  such  as  arrowroot,  which  enters  so  largely 
into  the  diet  of  children,  especially  among  the  poor,  is  a  very 
undesirable  food  for  infants,  unless  given  in  very  small  quanti- 
ties and  mixed  largely  with  milk. 


216  Ajppe7idix. 

"The  most  perfect  food  for  children — the  only  one,  indeed, 
which  can  be  trusted  to  supply  in  itself  all  the  necessary  ele- 
ments of  nutrition  in  the  most  digestible  form — is  milk.  In  it 
are  contained  nitrogenous  matter  in  the  curd,  fat  in  the  cream, 
besides  sugar,  and  the  salts  which  are  so  essential  to  perfect 
nutrition.  Tlie  milk  of  different  animals  varies  to  a  certain  ex- 
tent in  the  proportion  of  the  several  constituents,  some  con- 
taining more  curd,  others  more  cream  and  sugar;  but  the  milk 
of  the  cow,  which  is  always  readily  obtainable,  is  the  one  to 
which  recourse  is  usually  had,  and,  when  properly  made,  this  is 
perfectly  efficient  for  the  purpose  required.  Cow's  milk  con- 
tains a  larger  proportion  of  curd  and  cream,  but  less  sugar,  than 
is  found  in  human  milk,  and  these  differences  can  be  immedi- 
ately remedied  by  dilution  with  water  and  the  addition  of  cane 
or  milk  sugar  in  sufficient  quantity  to  supply  the  necessary 
sweetness.  But  there  is  another  and  more  important  difference 
between  the  two  fluids  which  must  not  be  lost  sight  of.  If  we 
take  two  children,  the  one  fed  on  cow's  milk  and  water,  the 
other  nursed  at  liis  mother's  breast,  and  produce  vomiting  after 
a  meal  by  friction  over  the  abdomen,  we  notice  a  remarkable 
difference  in  the  matters  ejected.  In  the  first  case  we  see  the 
curd  of  the  milk  coagulated  into  a  firm,  dense  lump ;  while  in 
the  second  the  curd  appears  in  the  form  of  minute  flocculent, 
loosely  connected  granules.  The  demand  made  upon  tlie  di- 
gestive powers  in  these  two  cases  is  very  different,  and  the  ex- 
periment explains  the  difficulty  often  experienced  by  infants  in 
digesting  cow's  milk,  however  diluted  it  may  be ;  for  the  addi- 
tion of  water  alone  will  not  hinder  the  firm  clotting  of  the  curd. 
In  order  to  make  such  milk  satisfactory  as  a  food  for  new-born 
infants  further  preparation  is  required  ;  and  there  are  two  ways 
in  which  the  difficulty  may  be  overcome. 

"Although  any  thickening  matter  will  have  the  mechanical 
effect  desired  of  separating  the  particles  of  curd,  yet  it  is  not 
immaterial  what  substance  is  chosen.  The  question  of  the  fari- 
naceous feeding  of  infants  is  a  very' important  one,  for  it  is  to 
an  excess  of  this  diet  that  so  many  of  their  derangements  may 
often  be  attributed.     Owinor  to  a  mistaken  notion  that  such 


Appendix.  217 

foods  are  peculiarly  light  and  digestible — a  notion  so  widely 
prevalent  that  the  phrase  "  food  for  infants  "  has  become  almost 
synonymous  with  farinaceous  matter — young  babies  are  often 
fed  as  soon  as  they  are  born  with  large  quantities  of  corn-flour 
or  arrowroot,  mixed  sometimes  with  milk,  but  often  with  water 
alone.  Now  starch,  of  which  all  the  farinas  so  largely  consist, 
is  digested  principally  by  the  saliva,  aided  by  the  secretion  from 
the  pancreas,  which  convert  the  starch  into  dextrine  and  grape- 
sugar  previous  to  absorption.  But  the  amount  of  saliva  formed 
in  the  new-born  infant  is  excessively  scanty,  and  it  is  not  until 
the  fourth  month  that  the  secretion  becomes  fully  established. 
Again,  according  to  the  experiments  of  Korowin,  of  St.  Peters- 
burg, the  pancreatic  juice  is  almost  absent  in  a  child  of  a  month 
old ;  even  in  the  second  month  its  secretion  is  very  limited,  and 
has  little  action  upon  starch.  It  is  only  at  the  end  of  the  third 
month  that  its  action  upon  starch  becomes  sufficiently  powerful 
to  furnish  material  for  a  quantitative  estimation  of  the  sugar 
formed.  Therefore,  before  the  age  of  three  months  a  farina- 
ceous diet  is  not  to  be  recommended — is  even  to  be  strongly 
deprecated,  unless  the  starchy  substance  be  given  with  great 
caution  and  in  very  small  quantities.  If  administered  reck- 
lessly, as  it  too  often  is,  the  food  lies  undigested  in  the  bowels, 
ferments,  and  sets  up  a  state  of  acid  indigestion  which,  in  so 
young  and  feeble  fi  being,  may  lead  to  the  most  disastrous  con- 
sequences. In  fact,  the  deaths  of  so  many  children  under  two 
or  three  months  old  can  be  often  attributed  to  no  other  cause 
than  a  purely  functional  abdominal  derangement,  excited  and 
maintained  by  too  liberal  feeding  with  farinaceous  foods. 
There  is,  however,  one  form  of  food  which,  although  farina- 
ceous, is  yet  well  digested,  even  by  young  infants,  if  given  in 
moderate  quantities.  This  is  barley  water.  The  starch  it  con- 
tains is  small  in  amount  and  is  held  in  a  state  of  very  fine 
division.  When  barley  water  is  mixed  with  milk  in  equal  pro- 
portions it  insures  a  fine  separation  of  the  curd,  and  is  at  the 
same  time  a  harmless  addition  to  the  diet.  Isinglass  or  gela- 
tine, in  the  proportion  of  a  teaspoonful  to  the  bottleful  of  milk 
and  water,  may  also  be  made  use  of,  and  will  be  found  to  an- 
10 


218  Apjpendix. 

svver  the  purpose  well.  Farinaceous  foods  in  general  are,  as  has 
been  said,  injurious  to  young  babies  on  account  of  the  defi- 
ciency during  the  first  months  of  life  of  the  secretions  necessary 
for  the  conversion  of  the  starch  into  the  dextrine  and  grape- 
sugar,  a  preliminary  process  which  is  indispensable  to  absorp- 
tion. If,  however,  we  can  make  such  an  addition  to  the  food 
as  will  insure  the  necessary  chemical  change,  farinaceous  matter 
ceases  to  be  injurious.  It  has  been  found  that,  by  adding  to  it 
malt  in  certain  proportions,  the  same  change  is  excited  in  the 
starch  artificially  as  is  produced  naturally  by  the  salivary  and 
pancreatic  secretions  during  the  process  of  digestion.  The  em- 
ployment of  malt  for  this  purpose  was  first  suggested  by  Mialhe, 
in  a  paper  read  before  the  French  Academy  in  1845,  and 
the  suggestion  was  put  into  practice  by  Liebig,  fifteen  years 
later. 

"  'Liebig's  Food  for  Infants'  contains  wheat  flour,  malt,  and 
a  little  carbonate  of  potash,  and  has  gained  a  well-deserved  ce- 
lebrity 33  a  food  for  babies  during  the  first  few  mouths  of  life. 
The  best  form  with  which  I  am  acquainted  is  that  made  by  Mr. 
Mellin,  under  the  name  of  '  Mellin's  Extract  for  Preparing  Lie- 
big's  Food  for  Infants.'  In  this  preparation,  owing  to  the 
careful  way  in  which  it  is  manufactured,  the  whole  of  the  starch 
is  converted  into  dextrine  and  grape-sugar,  so  that  the  greater 
part  of  the  work  of  digestion  is  performed  before  the  food 
reaches  the  stomach  of  the  child.  Mixed  with  equal  parts  of 
milk  and  water  this  food  is  as  perfect  a  substitute  for  mother's 
milk  as  can  be  produced,  and  is  readily  digested  by  the  young- 
est infants.  It  very  rarely,  indeed,  happens  that  it  is  found 
to  disagree. 

"  In  all  cases,  then,  where  a  child  is  brought  up  by  hand, 
milk  should  enter  largely  into  his  diet;  and  during  the  first 
few  months  of  life  he  should  be  fed  upon  it  almost  entirely. 
If  he  can  digest  plain  milk  and  water,  there  is  no  reason  for 
making  any  other  addition  than  that  of  a  little  milk,  sugar,  and 
cream ;  but  in  cases  where,  as  often  happens,  the  heavy  curd 
taxes  the  gastric  powers  too  severely,  the  milk  may  be  thickened 
by  an  equal  proportion  of  thin  barley  water,  or  by  adding  to 


Ajp'pendix.  219 

each  bottleful  of  milk  and  water  a  teaspoonful  of  isinglass  or 
of  Mellin's  Extract." 

ONE   MONTH. 

"  Having  fixed  upon  the  kind  of  food  which  is  suitable  to 
the  child,  we  must  next  be  careful  that  it  is  not  given  in  too 
large  quantities,  or  that  the  meals  are  not  repeated  too  fre- 
quently. If  the  stomach  be  kept  constantly  overloaded,  even 
with  a  digestible  diet,  the  effect  is  almost  as  injurious  as  if  the 
child  were  fed  upon  a  less  digestible  food  in  more  reasonable 
quantities.  A  healthy  infant  passes  the  greater  part  of  his 
time  asleep,  waking  at  intervals  to  take  nourishment.  These 
intervals  must  not  be  allowed  to  be  too  short,  and  it  is  a  great 
mistake  to  accustom  the  child  to  take  food  whenever  it  cries. 
From  three  to  four  ounces  of  liquid  will  be  a  suflScient  quanti- 
ty during  the  first  six  weeks  of  life ;  and  of  this  only  a  half 
or  even  a  third  part  should  consist  of  milk,  according  to  the 
child's  powers  of  digestion.  After  such  a  meal  the  infant 
should  sleep  quietly  for  at  least  two  hours.  Fretfalness  and 
irritability  in  a  very  young  baby  almost  always  indicate  indi- 
gestion and  flatulence ;  and  if  a  child  cries  and  whines  un- 
easily, twisting  about  its  body  and  jerking  its  limbs,  a  fresh 
meal  given  instantly,  although  it  may  quiet  it  for  the  mo- 
ment, will,  after  a  short  time,  only  increase  the  child's  discom- 
fort." 

TWO   MONTHS. 

"During  the  first  six  weeks  or  two  months,  two  hours  will 
be  a  sufficient  interval  between  the  meals ;  afterwards  this  in- 
terval can  be  lengthened,  and  at  the  same  time  a  larger  quan- 
tity may  be  given  at  each  time  of  feeding.  No  more  food 
should  be  prepared  at  once  than  is  required  for  the  particular 
meal.  The  position  of  the  child  as  it  takes  food  should  be 
half  reclining,  as  when  taking  food  from  the  mother's  breast, 
and  the  food  should  be  given  from  a  feeding-bottle.  When 
the  contents  of  the  bottle  are  exhausted  the  child  should  not 
be  allowed  to  continue  sucking  at  an  empty  vessel,  as  by  this 
means  air  is  swallowed  which  might  afterwards  be  a  source  of 
great  discomfort." 


220  Appendix. 


SIX   MONTHS. 

"At  the  age  of  six  months  farinaceous  food  may  be  given 
in  small  quantities  with  safety,  if  it  be  desired  to  do  so ;  and 
in  some  cases  the  addition  of  a  small  proportion  of  wheaten 
flour  to  the  diet  is  found  to  be  attended  with  advantage.  The 
best  form  in  which  this  can  be  given  is  the  preparation  of 
wheat  known  as '  Chapman's  Entire  Wheaten  Flour.'  This  is  su- 
perior for  the  purpose  to  the  ordinary  flour,  as  it  contains  the 
inner  husk  of  the  wheat  finely  ground,  and  is,  therefore,  rich 
in  phosphates  and  in  a  peculiar  body  called  cerealine,  which  has 
the  diastatic  property  of  changing  starchy  matters  into  dex- 
trine." 

EIGHT   MONTHS, 

"After  the  eighth  month  a  little  thin  mutton  or  chicken 
broth  or  veal  tea  may  be  given,  carefully  freed  from  all  grease. 
After 

TWELVE   MONTHS 

The  child  may  begin  to  take  light  puddings,  well-mashed  po- 
tatoes with  gravy,  or  the  lightly  boiled  yolk  of  an  ^gg\  but 
no  meat  should  be  allowed  until  the  child  be  at  least  sixteen 
months  old.  Every  new  article  of  food  should  be  given  cau- 
tiously and  in  small  quantities  at  first;  and  any  sign  of  indi- 
gestion should  be  noted,  and  a  return  be  made  at  once  to  a 
simpler  method  of  feeding." 


Feeding  the  Baby. 

Dr.  C.  E.  Page,  in  a  very  admirable  little  book,  "  How  to 
Feed  the  Baby,"  thinks  babies  are  generally  overfed.  He 
thinks  three  meals  a  day  and  nothing  at  night,  for  an  infant 
from  its  birth,  is  quite  enough ;  that  the  stomach  of  an  infant 
needs  rest  like  that  of  an  adult ;  that  the  stomach  should  be 
allowed  to  clear  itself  and  rest  before  the  next  meal  is  taken ; 
that  "  the  stomach  is  generally  forced  to  go  to  work  again  too 
soon,  and  later  this  excessive  labor  exhausts  the  muscular  power 
of  the  stomach ;  the  supply  of  gastric  juice  is  not  enough  to 


Appendix.  221 

digest  unnceded  food,  which,  if  not  thrown  up,  remains  to  pu- 
trefy and  poison  the  blood."  Dr.  Page  relates  his  experience 
with  his  own  children  (also  others  under  his  charge),  who  were 
brought  up  on  the  three-meal s-a-day  plan.  He  says  they  slept 
all  night  like  older  people.  At  the  same  time  due  attention 
was  paid  to  ventilation.  A  little  dropping  of  the  upper  win- 
dow always  kept  the  room  well  aired ;  no  swaddling  clothes 
pinched  the  vital  organs. 

He  says:  "If  the  child  be  fed  and  dressed  properly,  and  is 
otherwise  rationally  managed,  there  will  be  no  midnight  orgies, 
no  sleepless  nights  on  baby's  account,  and  it  will  soon,  indeed 
in  a  very  few  days,  become  so  regular  in  habit  that  the  bundled, 
pinned-up  squares,  so  sweltering  and  injurious,  can  be  entirely 
dispensed  with  at  night,  and  during  its  naps  by  day,  and  it 
may  be  safely  laid  down  after  supper  for  its  ten  or  twelve 
hours  of  solid  sleep." 

What  Dr.  Page  considers  a  sufficient  amount  of  diet  is  as 
follows :  "  No  definite  rule  can  be  given  for  the  amount  of 
food  necessary  for  a  hand-fed  babe  at  any  given  age.  It  will 
not,  however,  vary  much  from  one  pint  for  an  infant  of  six 
months.  This  amount,  divided  into  three  meals  at  6  a.m.,  12  m. 
and  6  p.m.,  has,  in  my  experience,  always  insured  the  best  re- 
sults." 

This  seems  very  little,  yet  undoubtedly  babies  are  generally 
overfed. 

He  also  says :  "  During  hot  weather  the  child  does  not  need 
as  much  food  as  in  winter.  .  .  .  The  baby  should  be  allowed 
water  frequently  in  summer." 

Dr.  Dawson,  of  New  York,  discussing  the  same  subject,  says : 
"  When  treating  vomiting,  constipation,  or  diarrhoea  in  chil- 
dren, the  stomach  is  given  rest  by  cutting  off  all  but  a  small 
quantity  of  food.  Will  we  gain  any  benefit,  I  ask,  from  ejected 
or  undigested  food,  even  if  it  causes  no  severer  disturbance  ?" 

Again  he  says :  "  Constipation,  too,  so  common  in  otherwise 
healthy  infants,  is  generally  due  to  excessive  and  too-frequent 
feeding.  The  explanation  is  quite  simple.  The  stomach  be- 
ing overburdened  with  food,  and  consequently  overtaxed  with 


222  Appendix. 

work,  each  supply  of  milk,  instead  of  being  coagulated  into 
fine  and  soft  coagula,  which  are  readily  acted  upon  by  the  se- 
creted pepsin,  comes  into  contact  with  the  semi-digested  acid 
coagula  of  the  preceding  meal,  and,  in  consequence,  is  coagu- 
lated more  rapidly  than  it  should  be  normally,  the  coagula  be- 
ing larger  and  harder.  Such  masses,  if  not  ejected,  pass  into 
the  intestinal  canal  but  little  or  not  at  all  changed  by  the  di- 
gestive process,  will  impact  together  on  contact,  and  from  their 
size  and  dryness  are  with  difficulty  passed  along  the  bowels, 
thus  giving  rise  to  constipation,  colic,  etc." 

Professor  ITuxley  says :  "  But,  whatever  the  circumstances,  if 
the  quantity  of  food  taken  exceeds  the  demands  of  the  system, 
evil  consequences  are  sure  to  follow.  The  immediate  results 
of  overeating  are  lethargy,  heaviness,  and  tendency  to  sleep. 
Overtaxing  the  digestive  organs  soon  deranges  their  functions, 
and  is  a  common  and  efficient  cause  of  dyspepsia.  If  the  food 
is  not  absorbed  from  the  digestive  apparatus  into  the  system, 
it  rapidly  undergoes  chemical  decomposition  in  the  alimentary 
canal,  and  often  putrefies.  Large  quantities  of  gas  are  thus 
generated,  which  give  rise  to  flatulence  and  colicky  pains.  Dys- 
pepsia, constipation,  and  intestinal  irritation  causing  diarrhoea 
are  produced.  If  digestion  be  strong,  and  its  products  are  ab- 
sorbed, an  excess  of  nutriment  is  thrown  into  the  blood,  and 
the  circulation  is  overloaded.  If  food  is  not  expended  in  force, 
the  natural  alternative  is  its  accumulation  in  the  system,  pro- 
ducing plethora,  and  abnormal  increase  of  tissue.  This  is  ac- 
companied by  congestion  of  important  organs,  mal-assimila- 
tion  of  nutritive  material,  and  increased  proneness  to  derange- 
ment and  diseased  action." 

Dr.  Dawson  says :  "  The  ejection  of  milk  after  nursing,  which 
is  ignorantly  considered  by  many  to  be  the  sign  of  a  healthy 
child,  denotes  overfeeding,  and  is  the  effect  of  reflex  action.  .  .  . 
As  my  experience  has  taught  me,  most  infants  who  thus  throw 
up  after  eating  suffer  sooner  or  later  from  enteralgia  and  con- 
stipation, and  other  symptoms  of  indigestion,  which  later  are 
only  relieved  when  the  greed  of  the  child  is  restricted." 

Dr.  Page  says :  "  One  cause  of  excessive  feeding  exists  in  the 


Ajppendix.  223 

desire  of  parents  to  have  2ifat  baby.  .  .  .  The  excessive  fat,  so 
generally  regarded  as  a  sign  of  a  healthy  babe,  is  as  truly  a  state 
of  actual  disease  as  when  it  occurs  at  adult  age.  Not  only  are 
the  muscles  enveloped  with  fat,  they  are  mixed  with  it  through- 
out, and  so  are  the  vital  organs — the  kidneys,  liver,  heart,  etc. 
Dissection  in  these  cases  often  discloses  the  fact  that  these 
organs  are  enlarged  and  degenerated  with  fat ;  the  liver,  for  ex- 
ample, is  often  double  the  normal  size.  The  disease  finally 
culminates  in  one  of  two  things — a  considerable  period  of  non- 
growth,  or  a  violent  sickness,  which  strips  them  of  fat,  if  not  of 
life." 

Dr.  Page  further  says :  "  It  is  not  the  large  quantity  swal- 
lowed, but  the  right  quantity,  properly  digested  and  perfectly 
assimilated,  that  alone  can  insure  the  best  results  with  either 
children  or  adults." 


Diet  for  Typhoid  Fever. 

Extract  from  an  address  on  the  "Treatment  of  Typhoid 
Fever,"  delivered  before  the  Midland  Medical  Society,  1879,  by 
Sir  William  Jenner: 

"  From  the  first  they  should  be  restricted  to  a  liquid  diet 
with  farinaceous  food  and  bread  in  fine  form,  if  the  appetite 
should  require  it.  It  is  better  to  vary  the  broths,  and  to  add 
to  them  some  strong  essence  of  vegetables.  Sometimes  a  little 
strained  fruit  juice  is  taken  with  advantage,  but  skins  and  seeds 
of  fruits  and  particles  of  the  pulp  are  frequent  sources  of  irrita- 
tion to  the  bowels.  Grapes  are  always  dangerous,  from  the  diffi^ 
culty  of  preventing  seeds  slipping  down  the  throat.  The  value 
of  milk  as  an  article  of  diet  is  generally  admitted,  but  it  requires 
to  be  given  with  caution.  The  indiscriminate  employment  of 
milk  in  almost  unlimited  quantities  as  diet  in  fever  has  led  to 
serious  troubles.  Milk  contains  a  large  amount  of  solid  animal 
food.  The  caseine  of  the  milk  has  to  pass  into  a  solid  form  be- 
fore digestion  can  take  place.  Curds  form  in  the  stomach. 
Patients  suffering  from  typhoid  fever  should  be  allowed  an  un- 
limited supply  of  pure  water.     When  pure  water  is  freely  ab* 


224  Appendix. 

sorbcd  it  passes  away  by  the  kidneys,  sldn,  lungs,  etc.,  and  is  of 
much  service  as  a  depurating  agent.  If  it  be  possible  even  that 
the  poison  of  the  fever  was  conveyed  into  the  patient  by  the 
drinking-water  or  the  milk  of  the  district  in  which  he  is  ill, 
then  these  fluids  should  be  boiled  until  a  different  supply  is  ob- 
tained. .  .  .  The  fever  is  thus  met  by  rest,  quiet,  fresh  air, 
mixed  liquid  food,  and  bland  diluents,  and  the  exclusion  of 
fresh  doses  of  poison  ;  the  intestinal  lesion  by  careful  exclusion 
from  the  diet  of  all  hard  and  irritating  substances,  and  the  re- 
moval from  the  bowels  of  any  local  irritant. 

"The  chief  causes  of  diarrhoea  in  excess  of  that  due  to  the 
intestinal  changes  in  typhoid  fever  are,  first,  errors  in  diet;  sec- 
ond, the  use  of  solid  food — the  presence  of  undigested  food  in 
the  bowels,  the  abuse  of  milk  and  animal  broths.  My  own  ex- 
perience has  not  satisfied  me  that  one  animal  broth  is  more 
prone  to  produce  diarrhoea  than  another.  Excess  of  fluid, 
when  there  is  irritability  to  absorb  the  quantity  drank,  passes 
through  the  bowels,  and  so  stimulates  excessive  secretion  from 
the  intestinal  mucous  membrane. 

"  Alcohol  in  fit  doses  improves  the  nerve  energy.  .  .  .  When 
blood  in  ever  so  small  a  quantity  is  observed  in  the  secretions, 
the  patient  is  to  be  kept  in  a  recumbent  position.  He  should 
not  be  allowed  to  make  any  effort  whatever.  All  movement 
of  the  bowels  should  be  restrained  as  far  as  possible  and  for  as 
long  as  possible.  ...  It  is  a  point  of  the  greatest  moment  to 
keep  the  bowels  empty,  and  therefore  nourishment  should  be 
given  in  the  most  concentrated  and  absorbable  form ;  i.  e.,  essence 
of  meat  in  tablespoonful  doses,  frequently  repeated.  Lumps 
of  ice  should  be  sucked,  and  all  essence  of  meat  iced. 

"  In  a  disease  which  runs  a  limited  course,  like  typhoid  fever, 
the  greatest  possible  care  should  be  taken  to  preserve  the 
powers  of  the  stomach,  as  the  life  of  the  patient  may  depend 
on  his  power  to  digest  nourishment  towards  the  end  of  his 
disease.  ...  To  avert  death  from  failure  of  heart  power 
alcohol  is  the  great  remedy.  Over  defective  cardiac  action — 
due  altogether  to  changes  in  the  muscular  tissue,  when  once 
established,  or  in  the  circulation  of  poisoned  blood  through  its 


Appendix.  225 

vessels — alcohol  exerts  comparatively  little  influence ;  but  when 
the  weakness  and  frequency  of  cardiac  action  are  due  to  nerve 
influence,  in  part  or  altogether,  then  alcohol  exerts  a  singularly 
beneficial  effect  on  the  rapidity  and  feebleness  of  the  heart's  ac- 
tion. ...  I  may  sum  up  my  experience  in  regard  to  the  use 
of  alcohol  in  the  treatment  of  typhoid  fever  thus :  Its  influence 
is  exerted  primarily  in  the  nervous  system,  and  through  it  on 
the  several  organs  and  processes;  for  example,  the  heart  and 
the  general  nutritive  processes — changes  on  which  the  rise  and 
fall  of  temperature  depends.  In  judiciously  selected  cases  it 
lowers  temperature,  increases  the  force  and  diminishes  the 
frequency  of  the  heart-beats ;  it  calms  and  soothes  the  patient, 
diminishes  the  tremor;  it  quiets  delirium,  and  induces  sleep. 
It  should  never  be  given  in  the  early  stage  of  the  disease,  or 
with  the  hope  of  anticipating  and  so  preventing  the  occurrence 
of  prostration  and  debility,  but  should  be  prescribed  only  when 
the  severity  of  special  symptoms,  or  the  general  state  of  prostra- 
tion, indicates  its  use.  Hence  a  large  number  of  cases  of 
typhoid  fever  end  favorably  without  alcohol  being  prescribed 
at  all.  It  should  not  be  prescribed  when  a  sudden  gush  of 
blood  has  induced  faintness,  unless  the  faintness  is  so  great  as 
to  threaten  life  immediately.  Nor  should  it  be  given  when, 
after  the  first  few  drops,  the  temperature  rises,  the  heart's  ac- 
tion becomes  more  frequent,  or  more  feeble,  delirium  increas- 
es, sleeplessness  supervenes,  or  drowsiness  deepens,  so  as  to 
threaten  to  pass  into  coma.  When  the  urine  contains  a  cer- 
tain amount  of  albumen  alcohol  should  not  be  prescribed  un- 
less absolutely  necessary  for  the  relief  of  some  symptom  im- 
mediately threatening  life,  and  then  it  should  be  given  with  the 
greatest  caution,  and  its  effects  on  temperature  and  the  circula- 
tion be  carefully  and  frequently  noted.  The  quantity  of  alco- 
hol prescribed  should  be  as  much  only  as  may  be  necessary  to 
effect  the  object  for  which  it  is  prescribed.  In  the  fourth 
week,  to  tide  the  patient  over  the  concluding  days  of  the  dis- 
ease, it  may,  as  a  rule,  be  given  more  freely  than  in  the  second, 
or  the  beginning  of  the  third,  week  of  the  disease ;  but  it  is  in 
exceptional  cases  only,  that  more  than  twelve  ounces  of  brandy 
10* 


226  Appendix. 

in  the  twenty-four  hours  can  be  taken  without  inducing  the 
worst  symptoms  of  prostration.  Nearly  all  the  good  effects  of 
alcohol,  when  its  use  is  indicated,  are  obtained  by  four,  six,  or 
eight  ounces  of  brandy  in  twenty-four  hours.  Taken  in  excess, 
even  when  in  smaller  quantities,  it  would  do  the  patient  no 
good ;  it  dries  the  tongue,  muddles  the  mind.  .  .  .  When  there 
is  a  question  of  a  larger  or  a  smaller  dose,  I,  as  a  rule,  give  the 
smaller.  The  reverse  of  the  rule  I  laid  down  for  myself  in  the 
treatment  of  typhus  fever." 


Fresh  Air  and  Diet  for  Colds  and  Catarrhs. 

Extracts  from  "  The  Remedies  of  Nature,"  by  Dr.  Felix  L. 
Oswald : 

Dr.  Oswald  says :  "  That  colds  or  catarrhal  affections  are  so 
very  common — more  frequent  than  all  other  diseases  taken  to- 
gether— is  mainly  due  to  the  fact  that  the  cause  of  no  other 
disorder  of  the  human  organism  is  so  generally  misunder- 
stood .  .  .  the  cause  is  taken  for  a  cure,  and  the  most  effective 
cure  for  the  cause  of  the  disease.  If  we  inquire  after  that 
cause,  ninety-nine  patients  out  of  a  hundred  .  .  .  would  answer, 
'  Cold  weather,'  *  Raw  March  winds,'  ...  in  other  words,  out- 
door air  of  a  low  temperature.  If  we  inquire  after  the  best 
cure,  the  answer  would  be,  '  Warmth  and  protection  against 
cold  draughts,'  i.  e.,  warm,  stagnant,  in-door  air.  Now,  I  main- 
tain that  it  can  be  proved  .  .  .  that  warm,  vitiated  in-door  air 
is  the  cause,  and  cold  out-door  air  the  best  cure  for  catarrhs. .  .  . 
In  all  the  civilized  countries  of  the  colder  latitudes  catarrhs 
are  frequent  in  winter  and  early  spring,  and  less  frequent  in 
midwinter,  hence  the  inference.  .  .  .  No  kind  of  warm  weather 
will  mitigate  a  catarrh  while  the  patient  persists  in  doing  what 
thousands  never  cease  to  do  the  year  round — namely,  to  ex- 
pose their  lungs  night  after  night  to  the  vitiated,  sickening  at- 
mosphere of  an  unventilated  bedroom.  Colds  are,  indeed,  less 
frequent  in  midwinter  than  at  the  beginning  of  spring.  Frost 
is  such  a  powerful  disinfectant  that  in  very  cold  nights  the 


Aj[ypendix.  227 

lung-poisoning  atmosphere  of  few  houses  can  resist  its  puri- 
fying influence ;  in  spite  of  padded  doors,  weather-strips,  and 
double  windows,  it  reduces  the  in-door  temperature  enough  to 
paralyze  the  floating  disease  germs.  ...  All  Arctic  travellers 
agree  that  among  the  natives  of  Iceland,  Greenland,  and  Lab- 
rador pulmonary  diseases  are  actually  unknown.  Protracted 
cold  weather  thus  prevents  epidemic  catarrhs,  but  during  the 
first  thaw  nature  succumbs  to  art,  .  .  .  the  incubatory  influence 
of  the  first  moist  heat  is  brought  to  bear  on  the  lethargized 
catarrh  germs.  .  .  .  Smouldering  stove  fires  add  their  fumes  to 
the  effluvia  of  the  dormitory  ;  superstition  triumphs ;  the  lung- 
poison  operates,  and  the  next  morning  a  snuffling,  coughing, 
and  red-nosed  family  discuss  the  cause  of  their  affliction.  .  .  . 
The  summer  season  brings  relief; . . .  the  windows  are  partially 
opened.  The  long  warm  days  offer  increased  opportunities 
for  out-door  rambles.  .  .  .  No  man  can  freeze  himself  into  a 
catarrh.  In  cold  weather  the  hospitals  of  our  Northern  cities 
sometimes  receive  patients  with  both  feet  and  both  hands 
frozen,  .  .  .  but  without  a  trace  of  catarrhal  affection.  Duck 
hunters  may  wade  all  day  in  a  frozen  swamp  without  affecting 
the  functions  of  their  respiratory  organs.  Ice  cutters  not  rare- 
ly come  in  for  an  involuntary  plunge  bath,  and  are  obliged  to 
let  their  clothes  dry  on  their  backs ;  it  may  result  in  a  bowel 
complaint,  but  no  catarrh.  .  .  .  Cold  is  a  tonic  that  invigorates 
the  respiratory  organs  when  all  other  stimulants  fail,  and,  com- 
bined with  arm  exercise  and  certain  dietetic  alteratives,  fresh 
cold  air  is  the  best  remedy  for  all  the  disorders  of  the  lungs 
and  upper  air  passages.  ...  If  the  fight  is  to  be  strong  and  de- 
cisive (for  breaking  up  a  cold),  the  resources  of  the  adversary 
must  be  diminished  by  a  strict  fast.  .  .  .  But,  aided  by  exercise, 
out-door  air  of  any  temperature  will  accomplish  the  same  result. 
In  two  days  a  resolute  pedestrian  can  walk  away  from  a  sum- 
mer catarrh  of  that  malignant  type  that  is  apt  to  defy  half- 
open  windows.  But  the  specific  of  the  movement  cure  is  arm 
exercise  —  a  dumb-bell  swinging,  grapple  -  swing  practice,  and 
wood  chopping.  On  a  cold  morning  (for,  after  all,  there  are 
ten  winter  catarrhs  to  one  in  summer),  a  woodshed  matinee 


228  Aj[>pendix, 

seems  to  reach  the  seat  of  disease  by  an  air  line.  As  the  chest 
begins  to  heave  under  the  stimulus  of  the  exercise,  respiration 
becomes  freer  as  it  becomes  deeper  and  fuller  .  .  .  mucus  is  dis- 
charged en  masse,  as  if  the  system  had  only  waited  for  that 
amount  of  encouragement  to  rid  itself  of  the  incubus.  A 
catarrh  can  thus  be  broken  up  in  a  single  day.  For  the  next 
half  week  the  diet  should  be  frugal  and  cooling.  Fruit,  light 
bread  (?),  and  a  little  milk,  is  the  best  catarrh  diet."  "  A  fast- 
day  is  still  better.  Fasting  effects  in  a  perfectly  safe  way  what 
the  old-school  practitioners  tried  to  accomplish  by  bleeding ;  it 
reduces  the  semi-febrile  condition  which  accompanies  every  se- 
vere cold.  There  is  no  doubt  but  that  by  exercise  alone  a 
catarrh  can  gradually  be  '  worked  off.'  ...  A  combination  of 
the  three  specifics,  exercise,  abstinence,  and  fresh  air,  will  cure 
the  most  obstinate  cold." 

This  admirable  article  of  Dr.  Oswald's,  published  in  the 
Popular  Science  Monthly^  has  undoubtedly  done  much  to 
shake  what  he  calls  "  the  night-air  superstition.'*  Dr.  Oswald 
sleeps  with  window  wide  open  the  year  round,  and  he  never 
has  a  cold.  It  would  undoubtedly  be  indiscreet,  however,  to 
change  a  habit  too  suddenly. 

The  old  maxim  of  "feeding  a  cold  and  starving  a  fever"  is 
also  refuted  by  physicians  in  general,  as  well  as  by  Dr.  Os- 
wald. 

Something  more  about  the  Pancreatic  Extract  for  Artificial 
Digestion. 
In  the  receipts  I  have  given  for  the  digestion  of  certain  foods 
(pages  41  and  42),  Dr.  Benjamin  T.  Fairchild  (the  inventor  of 
the  "Pancreatic  Extract"  as  prepared  by  Fairchild  Brothers) 
tells  me  that  he  fears  I  allow  too  long  a  time  for  the  digestive 
process,  which  renders  the  food  less  palatable.  It  is  more  sat- 
isfactory, he  says,  to  digest  the  milk  food  but  half  an  hour.  If 
not  taken  immediately  by  the  patient,  the  food  is,  after  the 
half  hour,  placed  on  ice.  This  arrests  digestion,  and  when  the 
patient  takes  the  food  into  the  stomach,  the  digestion  is  there 
completed.     As  it  is  desirable  to  give  the  food  to  the  patient 


Ajpjpendix,  229 

warm,  it  can  bo  slightly  heated  (a  little  more  than  lukewarm) 
just  before  it  is  administered.  The  boiling  of  the  food  kills 
the  digestive  principle  of  the  extract  used.  Yet  it  is  some- 
times, in  the  absence  of  ice,  desirable  to  boil  it  in  order  to  keep 
it.  The  digestive  function  is  not  destroyed  by  cold  tempera- 
ture— only  arrested. 

I  do  not  understand  why  it  would  not  be  as  satisfactory  to 
mix  the  pancreatic  extract  with  the  food  just  before  eating, 
and  allow  the  entire  digestive  process  to  be  carried  on  in  the 
stomach.  I  merely  give  the  advice  of  others  who  ought  to 
know  more  about  it  than  the  author. 

I  will  also  add  that  pancreatized  barley  gruel  (made  without 
sugar)  is  the  most  palatable  of  the  pancreatized  gruels. 

I  am  also  tempted  to  add  a  new  receipt  for  a  pancreatized 
food  which  is  now  much  used. 


Pancreatized  Oysters. 

Chop  half  a  dozen  raw  oysters  fine  as  possible,  also  pound 
them. 

Bring  two  cupfuls  (one  pint)  of  the  oyster  liquor  (it  may  be 
part  water  if  there  is  not  oyster  liquor  enough)  to  a  boil,  then 
thicken  it  with  half  a  cupful  of  barley  flour,  rubbed  smooth 
with  half  a  cupful  of  water.  Let  it  boil  three  or  four  minutes 
to  cook  the  barley,  then  add  the  oyster  pulp,  and  a  seasoning 
of  salt  and  very  little  pepper.  When  it  comes  to  the  boiling- 
point  again,  take  it  from  the  fire,  and  when  the  temperature  is 
reduced  to  blood  heat,  mix  in  a  fourth  of  a  teaspoonful  of  pan- 
creatic powder,  and  half  a  saltspoonful  of  soda.  Pour  it  into 
a  glass  jar  or  bottle,  and  put  this  into  water  so  hot  that  the 
whole  hand  can  be  held  in  without  discomfort  for  a  minute. 
Let  it  stand  an  hour  as  described  for  milk.  It  takes  a  little 
longer  to  digest  oysters  than  milk. 

The  dish  is  most  palatable  served  immediately.  It  is  liable 
to  curdle  when  brought  to  the  boiling-point  again.  It  can 
either  be  placed  on  ice,  or  brought  to  the  boiling-point  for  the 
purpose  of  keeping. 


ALPHABETICAL  INDEX. 


Animal  Foods,  remarks  about. ...  14 

Apple  Sauce 177 

Apples,  Baked 176 

Arrow-root,  remarks  about 21 

Asparagus  Soup 161 

"             "     {a  la  crime) 161 

Babies,  diet  for 49 

Barley  Gruel 107 

«      Pudding 193 

«       Wafers 122 

Bass  a  I'Espagnole 150 

Beans,  remarks  about 21 

Beef  "  " 14 

"    Juice 102 

«    Sandwich 144 

Beef  Tea 100 

"       "    for  Convalescents 103 

"       «   for  Invalids  (Dr. Rice)..     54 

«       «   for  Travelling 102 

«       «    (Liebig's) 101 

Beefsteak 141 

«        Chopped 143 

Beets  (a  la  crime) 136 

Beverages  from  Fruits 92 

Bird,  a 149 

Biscuits,  Dixie 120 

«        Wafer 122 

Blanc-mange,  Corn-starch 178 

"  "        Sea-moss 178 

Bouillon 165 

Bread 113 

"     Adirondack 114 

"     Boston  Brown 116 

"     Corn 122 

"        «    (No.  2) 123 

«        «     (No.  3) 123 

«•        «    Rice 124 

«     Dice 103 

«     Gluten 130 


FAGB 

Bread,  Graham  (No.  1) 115 

"           "        (No.2) 115 

»      Pulled 119 

Bright's  Disease,  diet  in 69 

Brolh,  Beef,  with  a  Poached  Egg.  106 

«       Chicken 104 

"       Clam 166 

«      Clear  Beef. 105 

"      Mutton 104 

Buttermilk,  remarks  about 13 

Cake,  Coffee 120 

"      Graham  Sponge 193 

«     Hoe 124 

Carrots  (a  la  crime) 136 

Caudle,  Oatmeal 109 

Cauliflower 136 

Charlotte-russe 179 

Chicken,  Breast  of 144 

"        Broth 104 

"        Croquettes 145 

"        Fricassee 145 

«        Plain  Boiled 147 

"        Prairie 149 

«        Souffle 148 

«        Spring 147 

"        with  Macaroni  or  Rice..  146 

Chocolate 98 

"         remarks  about 5 

Cholera,  diet  in 62 

Chop,  Mutton 144 

Clabbered  Milk 174 

Clara  Broth 166 

"     Soup 167 

Coffee,  remarks  about 6 

"      to  make 97 

Compotes 177 

Consumption,  diet  in.  173 

Corn  Bread  (No.  1) 122 

"         «     (No.2) 123 


232 


Alphabetical  Index. 


Corn  Bread  (No.  3) 123 

"     IJice  Bread 124 

"     Soiip 1(53 

"        "     (No.  2) 164 

Cornmeal  Gruel Ill 

"         Mush 129 

"         Pancakes 124 

Corn-starch  Blanc-mange 178 

"        "       remarks  about 21 

Corpulent,  diet  for  the 77 

Cottage  Cheese 175 

Cracked  Wheat 126 

Crackers 53 

Cream,  a  glass  of 96 

"       Ice 175 

"   of  Asparagus 161 

"   of  Chicken 160 

"   of  Corn 163 

"     «   (No.  2) 164 

"       of  Oysters 159 

"       of  Potatoes 161 

"       of  Rice,  Farina,  or  Barley.  160 

"       of  String-beans 1 63 

"       Toast 118 

"       Whipped 174 

Croquettes,  Chicken 1 45 

"          Macaroni ]  54 

"          Oyster. 156 

Currant  Jelly 185 

"       Preserv^es 186 

"       Scone 125 

Custard  a  la  Morrison 180 

"       Caramel 183 

"       Chocolate 182 

Coffee 181 

"       of  Granulated  Barlev  or 

Oats '....  182 

"       Plain  Boiled 180 

"        Rennet 182 

"        Tapiora  or  Sago 181 

Diabetes,  diet  in 71 

Diarrhoea,     "     61 

Digestion,  artificial 39 

DiphtJjeria,  diet  in 76 

Distilled  Water 89 

Dysentery,  diet  in 62 

Dyspepsia        "      55 

Egg  and  Milk  Punch 95 

"    Cordial.. 95 


Eggnog 9 ") 

Eggs,  IJoiled 139 

"      Poached 139 

"      Raw 141 

"      remarks  about 20 

Farina  Gruel.  , Ill 

'•      Pudding 190 

Fat,  remarks  about 18 

Fever,  diet  in 64 

"      Typhoid 66,222 

Fish.  Bass  a  VEspagnole 150 

"     Boiled 150 

"     Broiled 149 

"     remarks  about 16 

Flaxseed  and  Licorice  Tea 91 

"         Lemonade 94 

«         Tea 91 

Flour  Gruel 109 

"         «     (No.  2) 110 

«         «     (No.  3) 110 

"     Soup 167 

Fruits,  beverages  from 92 

"      remarks  about 22 

"      Stewed 177 

Gastritis,  diet  in 76 

Gelatine,  remarks  about 21 

(ilutcn  and  Rice  Muffins 131 

"      Bread 130 

"      Cheese  Cakes 132 

"      Cream  Wafers 132 

"      Muffins 131 

<'      Mush 130 

"       Pudding  or  Gruel 131 

«       Souffle 132 

"      Wafers 132 

Gout,  diet  in 67 

Graham  Bread 115 

"           '«     (No.  2) 115 

Rolls 125 

Graham-flour  Pudding 190 

Granulated-wheat  Custard 182 

"               "       Pancakes 124 

«       Pudding 191 

Grape  Juice 44,93 

(i rapes,  remarks  about 22 

Gruel,  Barley 107 

"      Cornmeal Ill 

"      Farina Ill 

«'     Flour 109 


Alphabetical  Index. 


233 


PAGE 

(^riH-1,  Flour  (No.  2) 110 

''     (No.3) 110 

"      Graliam-flour 108 

"      Oatmeal,  for  Infants 54 

«            "        (No.  1) 108 

'•            '•        (No.  2) 109 

"      Peptonized  Milk 42 

"     Rice 110 

Health-foods 26 

Hot-water  Cure 47 

Ice-cream  and  Iced  Peaches 175 

Iced  water,  effects  of C 

Infants,  diet  for 49, 214,  221 

Jelly,  Coffee 185 

"      Currant 185 

"           "      Sauce 173 

«            "      Water 91 

"      Peptonized  Milk 42 

«      Wine 184 

"         "     (without  cooking)...  185 

Juice,  Beef. 102 

"      Grape 44 

Koumiss 31 

"        to  make 34 

Lemon  Pie  or  Pudding 193 

Lemonade 93 

"         Flaxseed  94 

Lime-water 89 

Liquors,  remarks  about 8 

Longevity   80 

Macaroni  and  Tomato  Sauce 152 

"         au  Gratin 153 

"'        Croquettes 154 

«         Pudding 191 

"         Soup 165 

Malt  Extract 9 

Mellin's  Food  for  Infants 54 

Milk  and  Egg  Punch 95 

"     and  Seltzer-water 99 

"     Clabbered 174 

"     for  Infants,  Liebig's  receipt..  52 

"     Punch 94 

"     remarks  about 10 

"     Toast 119 

"     to  Peptonize 41 


PAOB 

Mush,  Cornmeal 129 

"     Gluten 130 

Mutton  Chop 144 

"       remarks  about 14 

Oatmeal  Caudle 109 

«         Drink 90 

"■        Gruel 54,  108,109 

"        Porridge 128 

«        Wafers 122 

Orange  Marmalade 186 

"       Pudding 193 

Oyster  Croquettes 156 

*  "      Soup 166 

Oysters  (a  Ui  ci-eme) 159 

"       on  Toast 153 

"       remarks  about 16 

Oysters,  Pancrcatized 229 

Panada Ill 

Pancakes,  Cornmeal 124 

"         Flour 124 

"         Granulated-wheat 124 

Pap 52 

Pear  Compote 177 

Peppers,  Stuffed 138 

Potato  Soup  (a  la  crenie) 161 

Potatoes  (a  la  crenie) 135 

"  "  {au  gratin).  135 

"         to  bake 134 

«         to  boil 134 

Preserves,  Currant 186 

•'  Strawberry 187 

Pudding,  Barley 193 

"         Corn  Cottage 189 

«         Farina 190 

"         Graham  Flour 190 

"         Granulated-wheat 191 

"         Lemon 193 

"         ]\Iacaroni 191 

"         Orange 193 

"         other  Soufflee 192 

"         Quioque 191 

Rennet  Custard 182 

Rheumatism,  diet  in 67 

Rice  a  l^/mp€7-atrice 172 

"     and  Gravy 170 

"     Cones 170 

"     Dish,  as  a  vegetable 173 

"     Gruel 110 


234 


Alphabetical  Index. 


PAGK 

Rice  Pudding 1 70 

«'          "       (No.  2) 171 

"          «       a  la  Gmllod 172 

"     remarks  about 20 

"     Soup  (a /a  c?'e/He) IGO 

"     to  boil 1C9 

«         "     in  Milk 369 

Rickets,  diet  in 75 

Sago,  remarks  about 21 

Salad 156 

Sauce  a  la  Gitillod 192 

"      a  plain  one  for  Puddings. . .   189 

"      Apple 177 

"      Brown 137 

«      Burke 192 

«      Currant  Jelly 173 

"      Tomato 155 

Scrofula,  diet  in 75 

Sea-moss  Blanc-mange , . .   178 

Seltzer-water  and  Milk 99 

Spinach 135 

Spirituous  Liquors,  remarks  about      8 

Soup,  Asparagus 161 

"  "        (a  la  creme) 161 

««     Chicken  "  160 

«     Clam 167 

"     Corn  (a  la  creme) 163 

«        «  «  (No.  2)...  164 

"     Farina  or  Barley  (a  Za  crme)  160 

"    Flour 167 

"     Oyster 166 

"         "       {a  la  creme) 159 

«     Potato  "  161 

"     Rice  »  160 

"     Stock  for 164 

"     String-bean .   163 

Steak,  Beef 141 

"      Venison 144 

Strawberry  Preserves 187 

Sugar  Syrup 92 

Sweetbreads 151 

♦'  with  Cream  Sauce. .  152 


PAOB 

Tamarind  Water 90 

Tapioca,  Custard 181 

"         remarks  about 21 

Tea,  Beef 100 

"        «    (Liebig's) 101 

'•'     Flaxseed .' 91 

"     Iced . . , 6 

"     remarks  about 1,198 

"     to  make 96 

Teas,  Herb 91 

Toast,  Cream 118 

"      Milk 119 

"      Mock  Cream 118 

"      Sippets 117 

"      to  make 116 

"      Water 118 

Tom  and  Jerry 95 

Tomato  Sauce 155 

Tomatoes,  remarks  about 22 

Stuffed 137 

Utensils 85 

Venison  Steak 144 

Wafers,     Oatmeal,     Granulated- 
wheat,  Barley,  Gluten,  etc 122 

Water,  Apple 93 

«       Barley 90 

"       Cinnamon 90 

"       Currant-jelh' 91 

«       Distilled  . /. 89 

"       Ice,  remarks  about 6 

"       Lime 89 

«       Oatmeal 90 

"       Tamarind 90 

"       Toast 91 

Wheat,  Cracked 126 

Whey 92 

"      remarks  about 13 

Zwieback 119 


THE    END. 


MRS.  HENDERSON'S 

PRACTICAL  COOKING. 


Practical  Cooking  and  Dinner  Giving.  A  Treatise  con- 
taining Practical  Instructions  in  Cooking ;  in  the 
Combination  and  Serving  of  Dishes  ;  and  in  the  Fash- 
ionable Modes  of  Entertaining  at  Breakfast,  Lunch, 
and  Dinner.  By  Mrs.  Mary  F.  Hendekson.  Illus- 
trated, 12mo,  Cloth,  |1  50. 


Mrs.  Senator  Henderson  has  rendered  an  acceptable  service  to  the 
women  of  America  by  the  preparation  of  this  thoroughly  practical 
as  well  as  thoroughly  sensible  book.  She  not  only  shows  how  to 
prepare  and  cook  dishes,  but  how  to  serve  them  elegantly,  and  how 
to  entertain  company  with  quiet  grace  and  refinement  at  breakfast, 
lunch,  and  dinner.  Having  pursued  courses  of  study  with  cooking- 
teachers  in  America  and  Europe,  she  has  the  knowledge  and  ex- 
perience requisite  for  the  judicious  selection  of  ingredients  and  for 
their  preparation  for  the  table;  and  we  think  she  has  successfully 
carried  out  her  aim  to  produce  "a  simple  and  practical  book  which 
will  enable  a  family  to  live  well  and  in  good  style,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  with  reasonable  economy."  *  *  *  There  is  no  detail  of  the 
economy  of  the  table  that  is  overlooked,  and  many  of  these  are 
made  more  intelligible  by  illustrative  engravings.  —  Christian  In- 
telligence?', N.  Y. 

Contains  everything  that  even  the  most  rigidly  exacting  of  eaters 
could  ask  his  cook  to  know;  and  which  is,  therefore,  just  the  vol- 
ume to  be  used  by  persons  who  have  to  do  their  own  cooking. — 
Boston  Traveller. 

It  tells  how  to  serve  dishes  as  well  as  how  to  cook  them,  and 
gives  many  useful  instructions  concerning  the  art  of  entertaining, 
some  of  which  will  help  housekeepers  to  avoid  serving  what  Lamb 
called  "roast  lady"  with  their  dinners.  The  receipts  are  not  too 
many,  and  a  skilled  housewife  has  found  all  of  them  good. — iV.  Y. 
Evening  Post. 


Published  by  HARPER  &  BROTHERS,  New  Yoek. 

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ceipts,     pp.   viii.,  640.      12mo,  Waterproof    Cloth, 

$2  00. 

This  book  contains  in  very  compact  form  a  vast  deal  of  useful  informa- 
tion. The  cooking  recipes  are  multitudinous,  variegated,  and  trustworthy. 
— iV.  Y.  Commercial  Advertiser. 

To  read  this  is  as  good  as  going  to  Delraonico's. — Providence  Journal. 

There  are  cook-books  and  cook-books,  but  this  is  a  new  one  that  ap- 
pears to  excel  all  the  rest.  ...  It  will  prove  a  benefaction  to  experienced 
cooks  as  well  as  to  house-keepers  who  are  just  beginning  business. — Port- 
land Argus. 

It  is  the  best  in  the  market.  It  would  be  a  fine  holiday  present  to  a 
new  house-keeper. — San  Francisco   Christian  Advocate. 

This  is  a  most  complete  work.  Every  conceivable  dish  seems  to  be  de- 
scribed, and  nothing  in  any  department  of  kitchen  work  seems  to  be 
omitted.  We  would,  perhaps,  be  justified  in  saying  that  it  is  the  best 
cook-book  ever  published. —  Cincinnati  Christian  Advocate. 

This  is  a  good  cook-book,  very  comprehensive,  and  giving  recipes  culled 
from  all  over  the  world.  .  .  .  The  book  ought  to  have  "  a  run." — Presby- 
terian., Philadelphia. 

No  American  cook-book  has  yet  contained  so  complete  a  list  of  Creole 
receipts.  ...  As  may  be  inferred,  this  book  contains  a  unique  collection 
of  receipts,  many  of  them  published  now  for  the  first  time.  One  of  its 
strong  points  is  choice  Southern  dishes.  It  ought  and  doubtless  will  be 
warmly  welcomed  by  the  knights  of  the  kitchen. — Syracuse  Courier. 

We  commend  it  to  the  attention  of  all  house-keepers  everywhere. — 
Lutheran  Observer^  Philadelphia. 

There  are  rare  and  unique  things  in  this  book,  whose  author  hns  evi- 
dently lived  in  several  lands,  and  availed  herself  of  every  opportunity  to 
enlarge  her  knowledge  and  cultivate  her  taste. — Boston  Beason. 

This  compilation  in  breadth  and  scope  deserves  to  rank  among  the  fore- 
most of  its  kind,  and  is  invaluable  to  those  who  seek  scientific  and  prac- 
tical information  upon  that  most  important  of  all  domestic  topics — the 
cookery  of  the  household.  .  .  .  Every  house-keeper  should  have  a  copy  of 
the  work. — Albany  Press. 

There  is  probably  not  a  dish  known  to  the  civilized  world,  at  least,  that 
is  not  mentioned  here. — Troy  Press. 

A  most  useful  collection  of  receipts. — Living  Church,  Chicago. 

This  book  contains  any  number  of  good  recipes,  and  would  be  a  great 
addition  to  any  household.  —  77ie  Church,  Philadelphia. 

It  is  a  capital  collection  of  recipes  from  private  sources. — Detroit  Post. 


Published  by  HARPER  &  BROTHERS,  New  York. 

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U.C.  BERKELEY  LIBRARIES 


CDHDD4DSM3 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRAI^Y 


